So I was aiming for something about 5k words and T rating this time but apparently I have just as little chill as Jemma :-D
I've been writing this fic little piece by little piece in the past two months and it's finally over so here it is and now I can go back to the newest chapter of my WIP!
Hope you enjoy this :-)
-0-0-0-
Leo Fitz wasn't perfect. Far from it even. He could get grumpy very easily, he had trouble not saying everything that was on his mind and enjoyed cursing just a little too much. Which of course was a deadly combination that made him quite the social disaster. But even though his mom regretted he couldn't get past the cliche of the filthy mouthed Scot, she was proud to have teached him some good manners and sensible moral values.
And that was why, when he found himself late at night, in a deserted street, in the presence of a young woman clearly not happy with the attention some ridiculously huge idiot was giving her, he felt that it was his duty to do something about it.
He hesitated for just a moment because he'd always been terrible at reading the signs when a woman liked him (or didn't at all) so who knew if he wasn't misunderstanding the situation completely? But when the man tried to put his arm around the woman's shoulder and she pushed him away, quite vigorously to say the least, it became quite clear what she thought of his advances.
"Hey! Is everything alright?" He asked loud enough to make it clear he was adressing the young woman even though he was still at least thirty feet behind.
"My friend and me, we're talking. Mind your damn business!" The meathead replied aggressively. They both turned around and stopped walking and Fitz managed to catch up on them.
"My friend and I are talking" Fitz replied without thinking.
"What?"
"It's my friend and I are talking, not my friend and me, we're talking" Fitz repeated louder and with a patronizing tone.
Oh yeah, also, he couldn't stop himself from correcting people's grammar.
"But it doesn't matter because I wasn't addressing you, I was actually addressing your friend" Fitz added, air quoting the word friend.
"Uh yeah no, obviously it's not alright but don't worry, I've got this!" The young woman replied with a smile that seemed almost … pleased. She'd been following the exchange with an amused smile so now something was telling him that she'd never really been in danger anyway but still, it didn't feel right leaving her alone with that mountain of a man.
"Are you sure?" He asked, looking back and forth between the two.
"Yeah a hundred percents sure but that was really nice of you to ask though" She answered with another even brighter smile.
"Oh it's nothing really, it was the least I could …"
"Hey you stop hitting on her you stupid imp!"
"What? How did you even come to that conclusion?" Fitz sighed, shaking his head in disbelief as he looked at the man who looked more and more like one of those stupid cartoons characters with impossibly wide shoulders and tiny waists.
Not that the young woman wasn't attractive. With her dark eyes, soft features and slightly curly dark hair, she was actually rather gorgeous and even about his age it seemed. But there was something intimidating about her that made him feel like he wouldn't usually even talk to her under normal circumstances. Not to mention that now felt like the worst possible moment for him to try and flirt with her.
"Well I've seen her first so leave us the fuck alone!"
"Wow, congratulations on your eyesight mate! Do you want a medal for that?"
"Wait! Are you fucking making fun of me now?" The meathead growled as he pushed at Fitz's shoulder, managing to make him take a few steps back without even looking like he made a conscious effort.
And that was when Fitz supposed he should have cooled down a bit. Maybe tell the guy he should just leave the lady alone and find himself someone who'd welcome his advances more positively, if there was even such a person. But of course that wasn't what he did. It wasn't that Fitz had a bad temper all the time, far from it, his friend Bobbi even told him that he came out as sweet most of the time and that his pleasant soft voice and accent appealed to women more than he thought, but once provoked, there was just no shutting him up. It was like his mouth was making up for his complete absence of strength and absolutely armless appearance.
"Wow someone's finally catching up with the rest of the class!"
"You fucking little shit!" The mountain growled again.
"Hey maybe you should both calm down a bit …" The young woman suggested, looking definitely nervous now and Fitz felt terrible. He'd tried to help and obviously he just made the situation even worse by acting almost as stupidly as that man.
"Yeah alright … how about we both go our separate ways and let the lady go home? It's late and she's obviously not interested, we're all tired so maybe now isn't …" Fitz tried but he realized it was too late when the other guy's fist, which Fitz was pretty sure was bigger than his own head, ended up on his cheek.
"I told you to mind your fucking business!" The meathead spit at him as Fitz found himself falling backwards with the force of the blow.
He was pretty sure he saw the young woman sigh and roll her eyes and then, the next minute was a blur. She caught the guy's arm just as he was about to grab Fitz's collar and then with a few moves that happened way too fast for his brain to catch up on it, the guy was on the ground face down and the young woman was holding his arm behind his back in a way that couldn't be comfortable.
"Now you're lucky that I'm super tired and I don't want to spend hours waiting for the cops to come so you're going to get up and run the hell out and not even try to turn around or hum … you know what? Don't even come back to this neighborhood ever again. Am I making myself clear?" She said, her voice barely more than a whisper and if Fitz found her intimidating before, now she was downright terrifying. And impossibly cool. Actually, now that he thought about it, she reminded him of a tiny brunette version of his friend Bobbi.
Of course, the huge guy agreed and he did run like hell the moment she let him go, which Fitz would have laughed about if his face didn't hurt so much and the world hadn't decided to start spinning much faster than usual. Only now was he realizing that the back of his head hurt and he must have hit it harder than he thought when he fell. You'd think those bloody useless curls would have cushioned the blow a bit. But apparently not.
The young woman's face appeared really close and he realized she must have crouched down next to him. "Hey, how's your head?" She asked in a much friendlier kind of whisper.
"Mmhh depends … d'you have a twin sister living in the neighborhood?"
"What?" She frowned in confusion before apparently seeing the way his eyes struggled to focus and giving him a sympathetic smile. "How many fingers do you see?" She asked again now placing her hand even closer to his face and for his defense, so close he might have seen double even without the blow.
"Many more than you should have on a single hand …" He replied after he decided it was useless to try and actually count them anyway. She chuckled a bit before standing up again.
"Okayyyyy … do you think you can get up or should I call an ambulance?" She asked and he made what was probably a pathetic little grimace. That was certainly not what he had planned for tonight. He had a delicious pizza in his freezer waiting to be heated and a slightly sad but never disappointing date with Netflix and instead, he was now debating if he could manage with a little ice and a simple bandaid on his cheek and aspirin for his head so he wouldn't have to go to the ER.
"Hu yeah … probably …" He replied weakly and gladly took the hand she offered him. She pulled him up easily and he almost toppled to the other side, the young woman's surprisingly steady frame the only thing stopping him from falling again. Okay, so maybe he wasn't going to skip the ER after all.
"Sorry … sorry …" He repeated once she managed to help him stand properly and the world started spinning just a little bit slower. "I swear that's not some elaborate way to hit on you or something!" He said, feeling himself blushing to the roots of his hair and she laughed lightly.
"No worries I believe you …" She grinned. "Well come on, I'll take you to my place I live real close" She added and his eyes went comically wide.
"What? No … no no no … I'll just take a cab to the ER, I've caused you enough trouble as it is. If you could just help me hail one, that'd be …"
"No come on my roommate's a doctor, she'll fix you up in no time …"
"No really I should …"
"Without something serious, you're going to wait for hours in the ER and my friend's a much better doctor anyway."
"Hey!" He protested, straightening up and regretting it immediately as the world started spinning again. "This is serious! Might have a broken bone or something!"
"Yeah of course it's serious" She replied in a slightly patronizing tone that made him grunt. "But I don't know how it is in London or wherever you're from but here in New York, if you don't have a knife sticking out of you or a wing of the hospital named after your dad, you wait for hours!"
"Oh …" Of course he wasn't exactly keen on going to some pretty nice but really quite weird stranger, who might or might not be a gang member, but on the other hand, he didn't feel good about going to the ER and possibly get robbed when he would inevitably fall asleep in the waiting room, like it happened to his friend Mack.
As it was, she took the decision for him.
"Right? So you're coming with me!" She declared and looped her arm around his waist, kind of forcing him to put his arm around her shoulder as they started walking.
"No honestly, I've already caused you enough trouble as it is …" He protested weakly once more.
"Nonsense! You helped me!"
"Oh yeah some help! You were doing just fine without me and would probably already be home having a beer if I didn't intervene!" He said, rolling his eyes at himself and regretting it once more as he almost lost balance again.
"Whaaaat? No you were really … fine you might be right" She interrupted herself. "But it was really nice of you to try, most guys wouldn't have said a thing once they saw how huge that guy was and you're hum … you're funny so it was kind of entertaining before you know … it became painful …" She said, barely hiding her amused grin. But he supposed she had every right to be a little amused when he made such a fool of himself.
"Right … and you're sure your friend won't mind?"
"Oh no she does it for me all the time!"
"Really? Are you like a super hero or something?"
"No!" She chuckled.
"You're not a gang member, are you?"
"NO!" She cried out and he didn't know if she was more amused or offended.
"Fight club?" He proposed tentatively and she burst out laughing.
"NO! No I hum … I've been taking self defense classes with my aunt May who I'm pretty sure is an ex CIA operative and I've been making a lot of progress but she's not always going easy on me …"
"Wow … Well it's been worth it … for me at least …" Fitz chuckled as they stopped in front of a big glass door. "So when you told the guy not to come back, you didn't actually have a way to make sure he wouldn't right?"
"Yeah no … seen that in a movie, always wanted to try!" She grinned. So maybe not so scary after all.
She started looking into her bag for her keys and it looked like it was a complicated maneuver with only one hand so he took his arm off her shoulder and leaned on the wall to free her other arm. His head wasn't spinning quite so much now so maybe he'd be able to walk on his own for the rest of the way. But when he followed her in a moment later, he lost balance again after only a few feet and he was grateful for her quick reflexes again or he might have fallen for good.
"Sorry …" He said leaning on her once more as they walked towards the elevator. "You sure this is alright?"
"Yeah no offense but you're kind of a lightweight!" She replied with a smirk.
"Yeah well … I like to think of myself as travel size, you can bring me anywhere!" He grinned back.
"Cute! I'll tell that to Jemma next time we're at a concert and she complains because she's too short to see anything!"
-0-0-0-
"Jemma!"
No answer.
"Jemma I brought someone home!"
"WHAT?" The voice seemed to come from one of the bedrooms. "Daisy we can't adopt another cat!" Oh was that an english accent? Daisy didn't mention that. Oh also his mystery super hero ninja was called Daisy. Maybe he should have asked before he accepted to come to her place. "You said you'd take care of Leo and you haven't changed his litter box in weeks!"
"It's not a cat and this one won't need a litter box but your medical skills!" Daisy cried out, giving Fitz a huge grin as she threw her jacket and bag on the ground next to the couch. She'd pushed him towards the huge piece of furniture the moment they came in to make sure he wouldn't lose balance once more. It was a comfy couch with plenty of cute flowery cushions that did a good job hiding the fact that the couch had seen better days. The whole place in general was very flowery, wether it was the smell or decoration, and probably the cleanest, tidiest place he's ever seen and he had a feeling it had a lot more to do with the mysterious and still faceless Jemma rather than Daisy.
"Urgh Daisy, I'm not a vet and dogs are even more demanding …" And then he heard a door open behind him and the voice, definitely English, became clearer. "I know I said I was in need of affection these past few weeks but mostly I meant sex and a boyfriend or even possibly something battery operaAAAHH DAISY!" She cut herself off, her voice going all shrill when she finally noticed Fitz on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest for some reason.
"Hi …" Fitz said in a small voice but she ignored him. It felt more and more like he'd intruded on two siblings who had the terrible idea of deciding to live together without their parents to control them and he started thinking that maybe he should have gone to the hospital after all.
"Daisy!" She repeated. "You could have told me you were bringing SOMEONE home!" She cried out and quickly grabbed a sweater that's been left on the back of a chair and put it on.
Oh. So that was why she'd squealed like that. Now that he looked at her more closely, he supposed she really wasn't wearing much. Even with the sweater on, he could still see the thin tank top she was wearing underneath and her pyjama shorts didn't leave much to the imagination and god, how was it possible for someone to have such pretty long legs while being so short? Fortunately, she didn't seem to notice him ogling her because she was too focused on waiting for an answer from Daisy.
"That's exactly what I said! You're the one who assumed it another cat!" She rolled her eyes. "See, there was this super annoying meathead of a guy hitting on me in the street and …"
"And you brought him here?" Jemma cried out.
"Of course no! Look at him, do you even know what meathead means?"
From her tone, Fitz couldn't have said if he should be vexed or flattered that it was so obvious to her.
"No that's … " She started again before turning around towards Fitz. "actually I've been calling you Will in my head … short for William Wallace" She added when he frowned in confusion. "But I assume you have a real name?"
"Yeah … yeah that's Fitz, Leo Fitz … but please call me Fitz!"
Couldn't she call him Braveheart? Honestly! Ugh Will. What a terribly boring name!
"Oh funny Leo that's like our …"
"Daisy!" Jemma cut her off, sounding more and more aggravated as time passed.
"Sorry, so that's Fitz, he tried to help me and …"
"Oh my god Daisy what did you do to him?" Jemma cried out when Fitz turned around to wave at her and she finally saw the cut or bruise or whatever was on his cheekbone.
She took the few steps separating them and sat on the couch really close to him, apparently not caring much for how little she was wearing anymore. Gently taking his face into her hands, she made him turn around slightly, seemingly to take a closer look at where he was hurt and god, she didn't only have pretty legs, she was very pretty, period. In fact with her big honey doe eyes, freckled cheeks and full lips, she was downright gorgeous, especially with that adorably focused expression on her face as she looked him up.
"I didn't do that!" Daisy cried out as she flopped down on the couch on the other side of him. Yep, definitely not what he thought his evening would be like. "The other guy did it obviously. Our friend here was a little too cheeky for his taste. pretty hilarious though." Daisy added, punching his shoulder playfully and he had to refrain from crying out in slight pain. Maybe he should take some of those self defense classes himself.
"Well Daisy, I already told you I'm not that kind of doctor …"
"What?" Fitz cried out, trying his best to move away from her but found that she, too, had quite a strong grip.
"I know but it was good enough to fix me up the other day …"
"Hum you know ladies it's been really nice and all but I should probably go to the hospital now …"
God, what had he gotten himself into? Would he be fast enough to call 911 before they caught him? For all he knew "not that kind of doctor" meant that she was in fact not a doctor at all and she just escaped a mental institution wearing some of the doctor's clothes. Most likely after killing them all with a hook. (Unless this was a different story, he kind of mixed them all)
"No I told you, you're going to wait for hours with what you have …" Daisy repeated.
"Yeah she's right, with nothing serious, they might even forget about you altogether over there …"
"Hey!" Fitz protested, finally managing to move away from her but not too far with Daisy sitting on the other side. "That really hurts you know!"
"Of course it hurts!" They both replied, their tone and matching expressions making it feel more like he was a toddler waiting for someone to kiss his boo-boo to make it better than an adult who tried to act heroically, and he rolled his eyes. Which was, again, a bad idea.
"Come on …" Jemma insisted with a softer tone. "I'm not a medical doctor but I do have two PHDs and a basic medical training along with a perfect knowledge of human anatomy, I can take a look, see what I can do and at least tell you if it's worth going to the hospital at all. Alright?"
Well, the prospect of spending all night at the ER wasn't really appealing and he supposed there was no harm in letting her take a look or clean the wound. As long as she didn't try to make him take some weird pill or inject him with something, he was probably safe. Her gestures earlier had seemed firm but gentle just like you'd expect from a doctor and she didn't LOOK dangerous. But then again, he could probably affect the correct gestures by watching a medical show on TV and he was obviously not thinking straight because of how pretty she was but oh well … he was too weak to run for his life anyway so he might as well take his chance.
He nodded and her smile widened.
"Great!" She quipped rather too enthusiastically and she must have realized it was too much because she blushed a bit and affected a more professional attitude as she took his face between her hands once more. She started running her hands quite gently all along his cheekbone and jaw to be really sure, applying a little pressure with her thumbs. He winced in pain when she made it to the spot where he took the blow but otherwise he couldn't help but find the whole thing rather … pleasant. His body seemed to agree if the slight shiver that ran down his spine was anything to go by.
"Well, just like I thought, nothing's broken and that wound's not too deep. I can just clean it and put a bandaid and there won't even be a scar."
"Alright …"
He had to admit he would have felt a little ridiculous going to the hospital for that. Although it wasn't that which worried him the most but the fact that he hadn't been able to walk on his own all the way to the apartment.
"You're starting to bruise though so we should put some ice so it doesn't swell up too much. But don't worry, in a week or so, it'll all be gone so it won't damage those nice symmetrical features of yours …"
"Hu … thank you … I guess …" He replied a little sheepishly and he heard Daisy snicker behind him.
"Yeah that's a compliment for her …" Daisy provided and Jemma just rolled her eyes but he swore he could see her blush a bit as well.
"So did he hit you anywhere else?"
"Hu no but I kinda fell backwards and hu … hit my head …" He replied and she took that pitying, almost tender expression again.
"Oh you poor thing …" She let out and now he definitely fell like a toddler again. Or maybe Daisy did have an habit of bringing home stray cats and she really was better used to dealing with those than human beings. "Well let me see …"
She pulled him gently towards her and threaded her fingers in his hair to try and feel if there was a wound or a bump and … god that felt nice. Maybe HE was the one who lost the habit of being with human beings after all. Looking down to avoid letting her see what was most likely a very pleased expression on his face, he now had a plunging view down her tank top and now he knew she wasn't wearing anything under it and that wasn't good at all, especially combined with the truly delightful way she was practically massaging his scalp in search of an hypothetic wound. So he gently grabbed her hand and moved it to the spot where it hurt before he moaned or did something even more embarrassing.
"Yep there's definitely a bump there but ... yeah no blood, that's good ..." She added as she finally took her hand away from his hair.
"You should check for a concussion though ..." Daisy chimed in before he had the time to say anything. "He couldn't walk straight for more than ten feet earlier ..."
"Oh ... And how do you feel now?" She asked, turning her pretty worried doe eyes at him and even though he did feel less than, he couldn't help smiling at her.
"Hu … a little better I think … it's still all spinning a bit though …"
"Right …"
Turning around to get her phone from the coffee table, she turned the flash on and directed it at him. She used it to test his pupils dilation and even though she clearly wasn't a medical doctor, he had to admit she seemed to know what she was doing.
"So hum … your pupils are reactive and symmetrical so I don't think you have a concussion but it does seem like you have trouble focussing and if you still feel light headed, I guess we can't totally rule it out and we can't let you leave if there's a risk, that would be completely irresponsible and ... although I guess it could just be shock hum … when was the last time you ate?" She asked, finally turning around and seeming to just remember his presence and that she could talk to him instead of herself and that made Fitz grin slightly as it reminded him how he could easily forget the world around him when he focused on a problem.
"Hum …. "
"Did you have dinner?" She cut him off when she saw that he obviously couldn't remember it immediately.
"Nope, definitely not …"
"Did you have lunch?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and slightly disapproving expression.
"Hu no … I was focused on that thing at work, lost track of time …" He replied a little sheepishly.
"Did you have breakfast at least?" She insisted.
"Hum … does coffee count as breakfast?"
"Oh Fitz …" She let out with a still disapproving but somehow softer expression. Why did that complete stranger's opinion on his eating habits suddenly matter so much? How did she manage to make him feel so guilty and small at the same time? Was it a doctor thing? Or a womanly thing? His mum certainly managed to do it easily every time they spoke on the phone.
"Did you at least have enough sleep?"
"Hu … depends on what you consider is … yeah no probably not …" He cut himself off seeing her expression.
"Alright then I guess we can probably rule out concussion, it's probably just a mix of tiredness, shock and hypoglycemia …"
"Oh …"
Now, that was getting downright embarrassing. He tried to play the hero, help someone he thought was in trouble and ended up being the one fainting and needing rescue just because he'd been stupid enough to forget to eat all day.
"Well I should just go home now … I'll grab a pizza on the way, you've both been really nice and it's getting late, I don't want to bother you any longer …"
"You'll do no such thing!" Jemma cut him off and he raised his eyebrows as he could hear Daisy snicker behind his back once more. Honestly? Was she twelve? "I mean …" Jemma corrected herself, her cheeks turning beet red at her outburst, which honestly was rather sweet more than anything else, especially with the way she was now nervously wringing her hands in her lap. "It's just … you need something with better nutritional values and hu … we can't let you leave on your own, that'd be irresponsible! Is there hum … is there someone we can call to come pick you up? Like a girlfriend, boyfriend or hum … a roommate, wife or …"
"Nope, no, none of that, I live on my own" He cut her off before she actually suggested he might still live with her mom. Which he hadn't since he was sixteen, thank you very much!
"Oh right ... good …" She replied before her eyes widened and she corrected herself. "I mean no it's not of course you shouldn't be alone as long as you still feel like this …"
"No really don't worry I'll take a cab …"
"Nonsense!" She cut him off, affecting a confident smile that didn't seem quite natural as she practically bolted up the couch. "The freezer's full to bursting, I'm sure we can find something for you, you'll feel better once you've eaten something hot …"
"I can think of something hot he could …"
"DAISY!" Jemma cut her off with a smile that was as fake as it could get. There was clearly something very siblings like going on between them but with his head still quite fuzzy, he couldn't fathom what it was. "Daisy …" She corrected herself with a softer but still incredibly fake tone. "… don't you have to wake up extra early tomorrow? Shouldn't you go to bed now?"
"Nah I'm fine … I don't need that much sleep anyway …" She replied, curling her legs under herself on the couch, looking very much like she had no intention to move anytime soon. Jemma sighed deeply and looked back at him.
"So what do you think Fitz? Eat something here, wait a bit to make sure I was right and when you feel better, we'll call you a cab, yeah?"
Okay … so tonight was starting to turn up better than what he had planned but still, he'd been enough of a burden for them and as enthusiastic as she sounded, surely Jemma was just being extra nice and he didn't want to abuse her generosity, especially when she'd already saved him from a night at the ER.
"Oh no it's late, you don't have to do that …" He replied but she must have picked up on how tempted he actually was to say yes because she flashed him a wider smile before moving to the kitchen and opening the freezer, apparently ignoring his refusal.
"Really, it's no bother Fitz, I'm not working tomorrow anyway and it will only take a few minutes to heat up … really you'd be doing us a favor, this rather delicious lasagna would probably end up forgotten in the back of freezer anyway and I hate wasting food …"
Her smile had turned into some kind of mischievous grin now and he thought it might make a better job at warming him up than that lasagna but still, he was only a weak man after all and if she was appealing to his stomach on top of … other things, there was little he could do to resist.
"Alright then …"
"Great!" She quipped before taking a pack of lasagna that looked good enough for at least four people, out of the freezer.
"That's really nice of you … both of you" He said, quickly turning around towards Daisy, who grinned at him knowingly for some reason, before turning back in the general direction of the kitchen. "… but you didn't need to do that, if anything I'm the one who owes you for everything you've done for me!"
"Of course not!" Jemma replied, her voice slightly muffled from where she was looking into the fridge for something else. Did she really think that lasagna wouldn't be enough.
"Yeah, least we could do with you being a hero and everything …" Daisy confirmed.
"Oh like you need rescuing from anyone …"
"Doesn't matter, it's the thought that matters!"
"She's right!" Jemma cried out from the kitchen. "That was very … noble of you …"
"Although, I would avoid insulting someone twice your size in the future …" Daisy added with a smirk.
"Hey I didn't insult him I … yeah alright …" He conceded. "My friend always says my big mouth compensates for how small I am!"
Daisy chuckled even as she tilted her head to the side in sympathy.
"Oh you're not so short!" Jemma chimed in from where she was leaning against the kitchen counter and Fitz raised an interested eyebrow as he straightened up in the couch as though not to contradict her. People usually told him it made him cute or that not all women liked tall men, which was really just a nice way of telling him he was in fact quite short. No one ever contradicted him before. "You're what? About 5'7 right?"
"Uh yeah … precisely …" He replied his eyebrows shooting even further up.
"Well you're only a bit below average here or back home but you'd be within the average range in Japan, and even a bit above in Portugal."
She said it casually like she'd just told him the sky was blue and water was wet.
"Wow that's … impressive …" He declared, a wide smile slowly tugging at his lips. She shrugged as she smiled back at him. "I'd go live in Portugal for a while, just to know what it's like not to be short for once but I don't think my pasty skin could take so much sun!"
She grinned knowingly as she quickly looked down at her own pale, freckled (and rather gorgeous) skin.
"Well people with pale skin tend to age much better so …"
"Yay for us!" He finished. But before either of them could say a thing, he could hear Daisy chuckle once more and they both turned towards her, Fitz with a confused expression, Jemma with a slightly annoyed knowing one. "What is it?"
"Nothing just … my bad Jemma, you did find someone who's not creeped out by your ability to guess people's age or weight and spew out random numbers about it …"
"Why-wha … why would I be creeped out by that? That's amazing!"
"Riiiight … of course …" Daisy replied. "Well …" She started before stretching her arms above her head and letting out what looked like a rather fake exaggerated yawn. "… I think I should probably be going to bed after all, early start and all that …"
"Daisy, what are you …"
"Looks like you have everything under control so … good night guys. Fitz …" She said turning to him with a strange kind of smile. "… if I don't see you again, it's been nice meeting you and thanks again for everything …"
"Oh really I didn't do …"
Okay goodnight!" She cried out.
And with that she was out of the room, the door to what he supposed was her room, closing behind her.
"Uh … that was hum-that was … uh what was that?" Fitz asked, turning around towards Jemma who looked supremely awkward, looking flushed and wringing her hands in front of her like she'd just been the one acting all weird. He wondered if that was the kind of things that happened often with her roommate and if that was why they acted so much like two sisters.
"No idea … that's just Daisy, she's an odd bird that one!" She replied, shrugging and laughing nervously.
There was a small silence then but it was fortunately interrupted the oven's timer. "So …" She said, looking strangely relieved. "Food?"
-0-0-0-
"So Fitz, what has been keeping you so busy that your forgot to eat all day?" Jemma asked as she watched him tear into the lasagna with an amused smile on her face.
"Oh hum see I-Oh god this is fantastic!" Fitz cut himself off and her smile turned a little bigger. It felt a little bit strange being the only one eating but it was late and she wasn't a hobbit, he couldn't possibly ask her to have a second dinner just because he felt uncomfortable, especially when she was feeding him such excellent lasagna.
"Oh I'm glad you like it."
"So I'm an engineer and I've been working on this set of forensics drones for three months already. The deadline for the first demonstration is getting real close and I was ... on a roll so to speak, didn't want to stop and risk losing my rhythm. I don't know if that makes sense, I guess it's a little weird ..."
"Oh no that makes complete sense to me!" She replied enthusiastically, hunching over the table Fitz was eating at with a little gleam in her eyes. It was a strange thing to get enthusiastic about he supposed, but then again, he found it really nice that she seemed to understand him.
"I tend to do that sometimes ... last week, I was so focused on what I was doing that I didn't eat all day and my boss had to force me to go home ... was a little embarrassing really ..."
"Interesting ..." Fitz said with a raised eyebrow and she looked at him in slight confusion. "So about that heavily disapproving look you gave me earlier ..." He added and she rolled her eyes.
"Well for my defense I usually don't go around getting punched in the face on my way home!"
"Hey! It's not like it's an habit of mine!" He protested petulantly.
"I know ..." She replied, her face turning much softer but still with a hint of teasing in her eyes. "Only for a good cause ..." She added, squeezing the hand he'd left on the table for just a second, her fingers brushing his lightly as she let go.
Was she ... flirting? She certainly didn't look quite as bothered by his presence as she'd been at first, what with the way she insisted he stayed and all the smiles. And there was that weird compliment about his face and the almost tender way she tended to his bruise earlier and now ... her hand. Or maybe she was just a very nice caring person and he was imagining things because his brain was still fuzzy or because he hadn't been with a woman in a long time. Or maybe both. Oh and ... oh no! Now he was thinking about what she'd d said about being in need of ... affection and then about her legs and her prettily freckled cleavage and ... and that was bad, really bad.
"So tell me more about those drones, they sound interesting." Jemma cut him off on his reflexions and he was grateful for it. Drones. That was a good topic. Nothing sexy about drones. Except the fact that Jemma looked sincerely interested in it of course.
"Oh well ... like I said, they're forensics drones. There's seven of them and they all have a different function. The idea is to use them on crime scenes or plane crashes sites, basically places that are too dangerous or too cramped for humans to go and gather datas: sounds, visuals, dangerous gazes still lingering in the air, you name it ..."
"Oh wow that's ... that's fantastic Fitz. And you managed to miniaturize them enough to go anywhere?"
"Pretty much yeah! They're about ... this big and about ten grams each." Fitz replied, putting his fork down and using his thumb and forefinger to show her how actually small his drones were. Too bad she couldn't see how cute.
"Oh! They must be really cute!" She exclaimed and he grinned as her brain quickly picked up on his thought process.
"Yeah ... like really cool non frightening fireflies!"
"You think fireflies are scary?" She asked, raising her eyebrows in disbelief.
"Of course they are, they're like small uncontrollable helicopters! What's not scary about that?" He replied matter of factly and she burst out laughing. He thought she might be making fun of him but her laugh was really pretty and she was still beaming at him so he decided to just shrug his shoulders and get back to her delicious lasagna until she stopped.
"So ..." He started when her laughter had finally subsided. "What are YOU doing that necessitated you to get to two PHDs? You're not an entomologist, are you?"
"No ..." She chuckled. "Although I quite like insects, they're pretty fascinating. But no, I'm head of biochemistry at SciTech."
"Wow! Really?"
So she wasn't only gorgeous, sweet and caring, she was also brilliant!
"Yes, why? You don't believe me? Think I'm too young for the job?" She asked, a hint of defensiveness in her voice she tried to hide behind a teasing tone. But Fitz knew what it was like not being taken seriously because of one's age and he knew he could get pretty defensive about it as well.
"No no no it's just ... I had to consult with two biochemists from SciTech last year, I guess they were from your department unless you got the job recently ..."
"Oh ... so you work for Stark, don't you?" She asked, practically bouncing on her chair as she did so.
"Yeah"
"Well we actually almost worked together, that project of yours the hum ... what was it called already? The night night gun?"
"Yeah but no they changed it to ICER ... thought my name wasn't professional enough ..." Fitz sighed over dramatically and Jemma tilted her sympathetically.
"Awww I'm sorry about that, I thought it was cute!"
Well that was nice of her to say, although her compliment kind of confirmed the fact that the name wasn't exactly professional.
"But it was brilliant and I really wanted to work with you but I just didn't have the time then and I had to send someone else. You worked with Donnie, right?"
"Yeah and with Nathanson as well ..."
"Oh" She just said and even though she tried to hide it, Fitz could see the same expression that was on his own face every time they had to work together. The man was quite good at his work but just so boring it was hard to remember anything else.
"Too bad you weren't available then. They're really good but nothing like you. Really nothing like you at all ..." He trailed off as his gaze was irresistibly attracted to where her hoodie and the thin strap of her tank top had slipped off her shoulder, letting him see her delicately muscled and freckled creamy skinned shoulder.
"Oh yeah? And how different are they from me really?" Jemma asked with a raised eyebrow and slightly amused expression. Fitz quickly looked away and down to his lasagna instead, which probably made him look that much more obvious as he started to blush furiously. Which seemed to delight her even more.
"Well you're much smarter, obviously." He replied, looking up at her through his lashes.
"Really? But you've known me for an hour and you worked with them for weeks"
"But you're their very young boss, you just have to be ..."
"Maybe I don't deserve the job ..." She proposed mock-innocently. Did she really want him to say it?
"Oh I'm sure you do!"
"So that's it?" She asked, her gaze burning into his forehead and he felt forced to look up at her. There was a new kind of spark in her eyes. One that made him feel all warm inside.
"Well ..." He started before gulping down the last of his lasagna. "You also, obviously, make the superior lasagna ..."
"Oh ... So you had the opportunity to taste Nathanson's lasagna?"
"No ... we didn't become quite close enough for that ..." Fitz said, grinning slightly and liking even more the way she leaned over the table to look him in the eyes more closely.
"So?"
Well. If she really wanted him to say it.
"Well I suppose the difference between you is also that Nathanson is Nathanson and you're completely gorgeous!"
She giggled delightedly then, her smile almost splitting her face in two as she blushed prettily.
"And by that I mean that you're beautifully symmetrical" He grinned and she blushed harder even as she remembered she was in fact the first one to pay him a (rather endearingly awkward) compliment on his physical appearance.
"So ... you really liked my lasagna, yeah?"
-0-0-0-
"So hum ... tell me if it's none of my business but head of biochem at SciTech must be a really good paying job, right?"
"Yeah ..."
"So why do you need to …"
"have a roommate?" She finished for him and he nodded. "I don't actually. I met Daisy at uni, I was finishing my PHDs and she'd just started working on her degree in computer science. It's always been hard for me to make friends back then. I was always younger and everyone thought I was a little weird. But not Daisy. I helped her find something in the library once and that was it! She forced me to stop working and go out once in a while, helped me being more sociable and took care of me at the same time. She kind of adopted me even though we're basically the same age. Now that I think about it I was probably her first stray." Jemma chuckled as she absent-mindedly petted the small orange cat that had taken residence on her lap just as they were on their second round of tea. He'd come out of her room looking supremely sleepy and a little outraged that she wasn't there to sleep with him and had trotted across the room, climbed on the sofa and settled on Jemma's lap after giving Fitz a mildly interested look.
"Yeah ... I get that." Fitz nodded. "It's not always been easy for me either, people tend not to like the weird kid who corrects everyone's grammar and is too young to be allowed to live on campus." He said, chuckling self-deprecatively.
Jemma gave him a warm smile and reached across her lap to squeeze his knee in sympathy. Once they'd started talking about their respective jobs, Fitz quickly realized how much they had in common. There was the fact that, like him, Jemma was a proper genius, which explained how she could first come off as awkward. Growing up around people who never truly understand you did that to a person. But it wasn't only that. In many ways, she was his opposite, she was naturally friendly and sweet and had a positive outlook on life when he tended to always expect the worse and that made him like her even more.
"So we became roommate just after uni and when I got that job at SciTech, I just didn't have the heart to tell Daisy I could afford an apartment bigger than this one on my own and leave her to find another roommate who might be an axe murderer or something ..."
"Wow, that neighborhood has become much more dangerous than I thought!" Fitz cut her off and she grinned.
"And yet we let a complete stranger into our apartment" She teased and he put his hand on his heart in mock offense.
"I'm hurt Jemma! Am I really still a stranger to you?"
She extended her leg to nudge his knee as she shook her head in amusement.
"Also ... without Daisy, I would probably never meet so many chivalrous and interesting people ..."
"Oh ..." He let out with a slight pout that wasn't completely fake. He supposed Daisy looked like the kind of very sociable person who had no problem meeting new people and introduce them to her more awkward but absolutely brilliant and gorgeous roommate. "So you really meet so many of them then?"
"No ... not many ... just the right amount ..." She said, giving him another one of those smiles that warmed his insides in a strange but not unpleasant way. And that's also when he noticed that she not only never brought her leg back to her side of the sofa but had her naked foot resting snugly against his thigh.
They'd been talking non stop about work, their different projects but also their love for Doctor Who, Terry Pratchett and old school science-fiction for the last few hours, his potential concussion completely forgotten, and he was now about ninety-nine percents positive that she was flirting with him. She'd been touching him a lot: a light brush, a gentle squeeze or a hand lingering just a little too long to be an accident, and if only he was more confident about the missing one percent, he supposed now would have been the moment to make a move. Because one thing he was a hundred percents positive about was how absolutely wonderful and perfect Jemma was.
She seemed to be looking at him expectantly and as he was racking his brains for something smooth or funny to say, or just anything really, a huge yawn stretched his mouth before he could say anything else or stop it.
"Oh my god I didn't see the time! I'm sorry you must be getting really tired!"
"Oh no it's not so late I just ... oh"
Wow. How was it possible that almost five hours had passed since he first walked into the apartment?
"How's your head?" She delicately moved Leo from her lap to the couch cushion and came to stand in front of him.
"Uh ... good I think, no more spinning ..." He'd honestly forgotten that was even why he was still here. To him it had all just felt like a slightly awkward but all in all fantastic first date: great food, really good tea, excellent company and the most exciting conversation he's had in a long time.
"Yeah? Well come on stand up! let me see."
She offered her hands and he took them without thinking. As he stood up though, he found himself closer to her than he'd been all night, close enough to feel the warmth radiating from her body and definitely distracting enough for him to ignore the way Leo seemed to glare, actually glare at him as he jumped off the couch and walked back to Jemma's room. Lucky bastard.
Jemma, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice a thing and brought her hands to his cheeks, tilting his face down a bit so she could see his eyes.
"Alright ... now look at me" That was easy. "Nice ... hum yeah that's hum good. Now look behind me." Not so easy but he managed anyway. "Good. Now back at me." God, she really had pretty eyes. Not actually light brown like he thought at first but almost the color of amber and with specks of green. He could easily imagine drowning in them like some sort of prehistoric mosquito and then ... Ugh no! That was a disgusting image, what was wrong with him?
Or maybe she would actually like it. She did talk a lot about insects, to the point where even he had to admit they were kind of fascinating.
"Fitz?" She cut him off in his internal ramblings. Oh crap, she'd been talking and he wasn't listening. "Your eyes are getting unfocused. Are you alright? Is your head spinning again?"
"No no no sorry ... just lost in thoughts ..."
"Really? What are you thinking about?" She asked as a wide smile tugged at her pretty plump lips and that really didn't help him focus on what she was saying instead of just looking at her.
"Mosquitos?" He tried and she scrunched up her nose in confusion so without thinking, he blurted out. "Pretty eyes! ... I mean yours , I mean you-you have pretty eyes ..."
"Oh ..." She was smiling again. Good.
"The color of amber really. Which is why I thought about ..." Oh no that was happening, he was really going to pay her the most terrible compliment in the history of compliments.
"... mosquitos?" She finished for him and he nodded gratefully. "Fitz? Are you using entomology to flirt with me?" She was so close he could feel her breath on his face and when did her hand slide from his face to his chest? It felt like it was burning him through his shirt.
"No ... I don't know … maybe? Would it-would it work?"
"It is ..." She replied, letting her other hand slide down to rest over his heart. Could she feel how fast it was beating? "See? You're just the right height. Or I would have to go on my tiptoes to hum ... to look into-at, at your eyes ..."
"Yeah? And that would be a bad thing?"
"Mmhmm ... because then you'd have to hold my waist so I wouldn't lose balance, that wouldn't be very practical really ..."
"Oh ..." Had his heart stopped? Or was it beating so fast he just couldn't feel it anymore? Maybe he should ask her with the way she was lightly fisting his shirt just over his heart.
"Although if I wanted to ..."
"Jemma, can I see you again?" He cut her off, feeling like if he didn't say it he might just lose his opportunity forever.
"I think you should stay tonight!" She blurted out.
"WHAT?" He squeaked in surprise and she pulled back, smoothing down inexistant wrinkles on her tank top and shorts and blushing like mad. God, couldn't he be smooth for once?
"I mean hum ... on the couch. It's getting late, you must be tired and hum ..."
"Yeah alright ... makes sense." Whatever staying the night entailed, he was certainly not going to say no! And no need to tell her now that he lived only fifteen minutes away.
"Great! I mean hu ... good, I'm going to get you pillows and blankets then."
But before she had the time to walk away and the moment was definitely over, he caught her arm, forcing her to turn around and look back at him.
"Did you hear what I said before?" She nodded. "And hu ... when I mean seeing you again, I mean not like tomorrow morning, I mean hu ..."
"Date?" She finished for him and he nodded, sighing in relief at the smile that came with her words.
"Yeah ..."
"I'd like that."
"Great great ...I'll hum ...I'll give you a call then and hu ... actually I'm going to need ... "
"Fitz?" She cut him off.
"Yeah?"
"I'll give you my phone number in a moment I promise, but right now I need my arm to go and get those blankets for you ..." She grinned, looking down at where his fingers were still clasped lightly around her wrist.
"Oh ... sure ... sorry!"
She squeezed his hand lightly before letting go and leaving the room. Fitz supposed he should get ready for bed then so he took off his shoes and socks as well as his tie, and he supposed it was safe to take off his shirt since he wore an undershirt. Fortunately, he didn't have the time to wonder if it was a good idea to take off his jeans too, and find himself in front of Jemma in just his boxers, because she was already back with a huge pile of pillows and blankets and how cold did she think he might get during the night, really?
She let it fall on the couch and gave him a slightly sheepish smile as she looked down at just how much there was. It did look mightily fluffy though.
"So hum ... just make yourself at home and if you need anything, just ask, yeah?"
"Thank you Jemma ... for this and you know ... everything else."
"Oh no that was ... that was the least I could do and hum ... it's been ..."
"Really nice." He finished for her, taking one step towards her. "I mean not the getting punched in the face part but everything else ..."
"Yeah ..." She grinned. Looking up at him, she softly brought her hand to his face and swiped her thumb over his cheekbone. "Does it hurt?"
"Just a little ..." Did she smell so good earlier? Like lavender and tea and something sweet that made him want to bury his face in her neck and breathe her in. Just like she heard his thoughts, she went up on her tiptoes after all and pressed a kiss just where a dark purplish mark had formed despite Jemma putting ice on it earlier. She kept her lips close to his skin then and shivers ran down his spine.
"Better?" She asked, her voice as soft as velvet. One hand went to her waist of its own accord and the other on her shoulder. She'd divested herself of her hoodie at some point it seemed, and he just couldn't resist the magnetic pull of her soft looking skin.
"Better ..." He rasped. "Jemma I ..."
Whatever he was about to say remained stuck in his throat as she moved back just enough to gaze at him. His eyes flicked down to her lips and the next second they were pressed against his, soft, eager and hungry. Fitz let out a surprised little gasp and then he was kissing her back. His tongue darted out to lick her lips and he deepened the kiss almost immediately, just as his arms engulfed her into a fierce embrace that lifted her slightly off the ground. She squeaked in delight and bit his lower lip teasingly before diving back into the kiss. God! She tasted even better than she smelt, like tea and that delightfully sweet biscuit they ate with it, and that made him want to know the taste of her skin as well, to dive his tongue into the hollow of her throat and hear what kind of noises she could make when it wasn't muffled by his mouth. Her hands had moved up into his hair in the meantime, her fingers sinfully scrapping his scalp and that soft warmth she had ignited earlier with a few simple looks and smiles suddenly grew tenfold.
"Jemma" He almost moaned as their lips separated for a second.
"Mmhmm" She sighed into his mouth as she captured his lips again. She started walking him blindly back then, until he reached the edge of the couch and lost balance. She fell with him but he barely had the time to recover before she was moving towards the end of the couch, pulling him by the front of his t-shirt until he was lying on top of her.
"Fitz ..." She gasped as the proof of his arousal made itself evident against her pelvis. And then, before he had the time to do or say anything, she pushed up against him as her hands on his bum pulled him down and that was when, he supposed, they lost control just a liitle bit.
-0-0-0-
That was definitely not how Fitz thought his evening would go. By now, he would normally be asleep or maybe binge watching that new show on Netflix if it really was as good as everybody said while feeling guilty for, once more, lying to Hunter. Earlier this evening, he made up an excuse for not being able to come to the bar knowing his friend would keep sending another one of his single friends his way. Hopefully he wouldn't have to make up excuses for much longer because instead he was now in a stranger's apartment, making out with the most amazing woman he's ever met. And if he was really lucky, it would become a regular occurence.
To be fair, he was pretty sure they'd gone past making out about ten minutes ago when she very enthusiastically encouraged him to slip his hand into her shorts and he realized she wasn't wearing anything under it. He still wasn't a hundred percents sure he didn't hit his head harder than he thought and wasn't just laying unconscious in an hospital bed, his imaginative brain providing him with very life like and incredibly pleasant dreams. But if that was the case, he was going to enjoy it before he most likely woke up to Hunter and Bobbi's worried and disappointed faces. So he broke the kiss and moved his lips to the soft skin of her neck. He'd already left an impressive mark there earlier but when he found that very sensitive spot she had let out the most ...
"God Fitz!" She whimpered. There it was. Her legs clasped around his waist of their own volition, pushing his hand tighter against where he was gently caressing her folds. He took it as his cue to move things forward, letting his middle finger dive deeper between her lips to find her most sensitive spot. He couldn't believe this was happening to him and that someone so incredible wanted him, Leo Fitz, so badly. He started moving his finger in tight little circles as she gasped and moaned and bit his earlobe in a way that was driving him the very good kind of crazy.
"Fitz ... yes ... don't stop ..." She whispered breathlessly into his ear.
Like he would ever want to stop doing something that made her writhe against him that way! So instead he just picked up his pace, a second finger joining the first one to increase the pressure and her hands on his shoulders gripped him hard. She was panting harshly and when he felt her legs tightening and her whole body arch up into him, he remembered they weren't alone in this apartment and captured her lips once more, just in time to swallow her cries of ecstasy.
He broke the kiss when he finally felt her body relax and looked down at her, completely enamored by the way her hair were spread out chaotically around her head. He pushed one strand that had gotten before her face and hooked it behind her ear. She finally opened her eyes and looked at him with a smile that was at the same time ecstatic and a little shy.
"Hi" He whispered.
"Hi" She replied, her smile widening. "I'm really, really glad Daisy brought you home … and that you're not another cat ..."
He grinned wickedly and pressed a small, almost chaste kiss to her lips.
"I never do that you know ..." He said, running his fingers over the smooth skin of her shoulders.
"What, rescue damsels in distress?"
"Oh no I do that all the time!"
She chuckled and pushed at his shoulders, making them roll around until they were on their sides facing each other. She kissed him once more.
"No I meant ... this ..." He moved his finger between them, looking down at where her leg was hooked across his still fully clothed hip. "Making out with someone I don't even know the last name of."
"Oh ..." She let out, blushing slightly. "Well, I'm Jemma Simmons" She said, offering her hand for him to shake and he couldn't help grinning at the fact that the hand he shook hers with so formally was the one down her shorts pleasuring her just a moment ago.
"You should know that I don't usually do that either ... you're hum-you're special. I really like you Fitz and hum ..."
"I really like you too Jemma Simmons!" He cut her off and the slight frown that had formed on her face relaxed. "So you still want to go out on a date with me yeah?"
"Of course I do! Fitz ..." She cried out, shaking her head fondly. "How could this have possibly made me change my mind?"
"Ha hum ... I don't know, it's just ... you. You're so ... so ... perfect and ..."
"Awww Fitz! Are you for real?" She cut him off and he frowned, wondering if her bewilderment was a good or bad thing. But them she pushed at his shoulders once more until he was on his back and she was straddling his thighs, looking down at him mischievously.
Good thing then. Definitely a good thing.
Taking one of his hands, she slowly brought it up until it rested on her breast. His fingers squeezed lightly almost of their volition and she bit her lip. He swept his thumb across her already erect nipple through her thin tank top and he could actually feel the shiver than ran through her body. She slipped her own hand under his shirt, softly scrapping her nails across his stomach and grinning as she felt him tighten his barely there abdominal muscles. She was so sexy from this angle, with her disheveled appearance, her kiss swollen lips and her body arching up into his hand, but she was also way too far. He wanted to taste her again. So using his free hand, he propped himself up and captured his lips as he muffled another one those adorable squeaks of delight. In that position, he was the one having to stretch his neck to kiss her, which he didn't mind really, but what he really liked was how it also put him at just the right height to kiss the freckled skin of her cleavage and hopefully what was hiding just under her top. So he let go of her lips and started divesting his kisses to her neck, not resisting to stop a moment to lick at that sensitive spot in the hollow of her throat just to hear her little gasps of pleasure. He looked up questioningly when he reached the hem of her top and was rewarded with the most lustful look he thought anyone had ever sent his way. So feeling a little smug, he used his teeth to pull the fabric down enough to free her breast.
Logically, he knew it was just a bit flesh and skin and he'd already seen a few ones up close before but still, seeing a new one always worked on him. He supposed he really was just a boobs guy and there was nothing for it. Jemma's one was especially pretty in his opinion though. A perfect round handful, pale and dotted with freckles, her hard rosy nipple just begging to be taken care of. And that's just what he did, rolling his tongue around it before sucking it in. Jemma let out the most erotic little mewl that made his trousers feel awfully tight so he used his hand on her hip to pull her against him and relieve some of that tension and she started moving her hips in counter point as her hands went to his belt. And he started wondering if maybe they should ...
"I can't believe you're still up Jem, what show are you binging this ... OH MY GOD!" Daisy cried out as she came into sight.
Jemma squealed loudly this time and pushed him back as a reflex as she quickly tried to put her tank top back over her breast, which of course made her move above him quite a lot and Fitz had to focus on reciting prime numbers in his head as he pictured his old mathematics teacher to try and not make this even more awkward.
"Jemma! What are you doing to my knight?" Daisy insisted as they were both still busy trying to right themselves and assume a supposedly innocent posture.
"Ugh what do you think Daisy?" She rolled her eyes before her expression turned almost dreamy and Fitz grinned despite the awkwardness of the situation. "And I'm not doing anything TO him! If anything, he was the one doing something to me with …"
"HAAAAAAAALALALALALALALA don't want to listen to that!" Daisy cried out, putting her hands over her ears and closing her eyes.
Jemma sighed loudly and shook her head, acting like it wasn't an uncommon thing to happen. That seemed weird to Fitz but he grew up an only child so who knew?
"Are you done?" Jemma asked, pulling at Daisy's hands who looked as amused as she was shocked now as she nodded. "And don't call him a knight! Honestly, it's ridiculous and you've just been watching too much Disney recently!"
"Yeah and actually ..." Fitz interjected and they both turned to him. "It's funny because typically knights have to be of noble origin and Fitz, my family name, means son of, which is the name that was typically given to bastard sons back in the days so I could probably never be a knight … Not to mention that, if you've watched the movie correctly and if I'm William Wallace then I could never and would never accept to be knighted by an English king or queen ..."
Jemma gave him a wide fond smile but it soon turned into a frown again as Daisy started talking again.
"Oh my god marry him!" She cried out. "But Jemma, seriously?"
She looked kind of disappointed. Which was really quite hurtful. He knew Jemma was out of his league but he still thought he had some qualities and if she gave him a chance, he would do everything he could to make her happy. Hell, he'd even started already.
Apparently Jemma came to the same conclusion and her reaction warmed his heart.
"What Daisy? Do you think there's something wrong with Fitz? I'll have you know he's brilliant and sweet and I find him really hand-"
"No Fitz is adorable that's not the issue here!"
"Then what? Did you want him for yourself?"
What?
"What? No you know I like them less puppy and more men Jemma!"
"Hey!" Fitz protested as they went on to ignore him. Had he turned invisible?
"Do you mean full asshole maybe?" Jemma snapped.
Now that was getting mean!
"Wow low blow Jem."
"So what Daisy?" Jemma insisted as she glared at her friend and crossed her arms over her chest. He'd only seen very nice sides of her (both litteraly and metaphorically, Fitz grinned internally) but he had the feeling she could be terrifying if she wanted to.
"After all you told me about waiting at least a few dates to get to know someone for something to happen, you jump his bones after knowing him for three hours! I left you alone so you could keep flirting, not defile my couch the moment my back was turned!" Daisy cried out and Jemma seemed embarrassed for barely a few seconds, putting her hand behind her neck, like he'd seen her do a few times during their conversations, before lifting her face up once more.
"Well it's not like I met him in a bar or a concert Daisy! We talked a lot tonight and he did try to help you, I think that says a lot about him."
"Hu ...Would you mind stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Fitz tried once more with just as little success.
"Hey I knew Miles, i've been listening to his music and read interviews for years!" Daisy replied petulantly.
"Ugh Daisy!"
"Okay, maybe I should go, leave you to settle whatever there is between you two …" Fitz let out with a sigh as he started to stand up, wondering if Jemma had forgotten about him altogether even as she was fighting about him with Daisy.
He was relieved to see that it was not quite the case because she turned around immediately. And apparently what they'd just started before Daisy interrupted seemed more important than her and Daisy's childish little fight.
"No no no Fitz don't go!" She cried out, walking back to him and catching his arm to stop him from going any further. "Daisy and I are done here, right Daisy?" She added in a tone that suggested it wasn't really a question.
"Fine fine, I had to get up to go to work soon anyway, I'm gonna take a shower but please move THIS ..." She said gesturing between Fitz and Jemma who had just slipped her arm around his waist in an adorably possessive way. "...somewhere else, your room preferably and ooooh ... for the love of god Fitz, hide this behind a cushion!" She added as she quickly looked away but pointed towards his middle section where his interest was very much not concealed by his trousers. Taking a moment of panic to react, Fitz could only do as Daisy told him and sat back as he grabbed one of Jemma's pretty flowery cushions to hide his erection, not knowing if he should feel ridiculous or like the worst pervert imaginable.
"Also congrats Fitz! Obviously not everything is travel size it seems!" Daisy added with a wide grin, which he supposed he should have taken as a compliment but somehow made him feel even worse. He'd tried to act all respectful and chivalrous by helping her, she'd welcomed him into her home and now he felt like the pervert who had defiled her lovely roommate and couldn't even tame down his erection when he saw two friends arguing like children. Though defiling was probably too strong a word since Jemma had been a very willing and enthusiastic participant in all this. Technically she'd even started it.
"Have fun Jemma and use protection!" She turned around towards her friend who seemed to be turning the same deep red color his skin had taken as he took his face in his hands. "Don't hurt yourself though ..." She stage whispered behind her hand before finally trotting up to the bathroom with quite a lot of enthusiasm and energy for someone who'd just woken up and hadn't exactly had what he called a good night's sleep.
Silence settled over them both for a moment as Jemma started pacing and Fitz remained on the couch and could only hope this interruption didn't make Jemma reconsider her interest in him, realizing that maybe it's all been just a heat of the moment thing and wondering the best way to get rid of him.
"Do you want to leave?" She asked shyly, barely looking at him.
Oh no.
"I mean I really don't want you to but I wouldn't blame you, this whole thing was really embarrassing, you must be wondering what you're getting yourself into. Just take my phone number and please consider calling me someday because I really want to-"
"Are you mad?" He cut her off and her head shot up, a small hopeful smile on her face. "Not but seriously Jemma. Are you mad? Both of you?" He insisted, grinning widely and she gave him a very unconvincing glare before coming to sit next to him, bumping his shoulder harder than he thought possible for someone so tiny. He chuckled and she smiled back so he decided it was probably safe to put his arm around her shoulder and pull her closer into his chest.
"That did feel a little weird but I never had a roommate before so who am I to judge? And believe it or not, I've met crazier than you two and... ow!" He cut himself off as she slapped his thigh weakly. "Not by, you know, a lot but ..."
She glared at him once more, which really wasn't convincing now that she had her hand under his shirt, gently scrapping her fingers over the skin of his waist.
"Never met someone quite as magnificent as you though ..." He whispered in her ear and he could feel her smile more than he saw it. She lifted her face up then and, softly palming his cheek, she pressed her lips to his once more in a slightly sleepy but no less delightul kiss. It soon grew more insistant though as Jemma's hands grew bolder under his t-shirt and her tongue swiped against his. They pulled back at the same time with matching panting breaths and the desire emanating from her body was dizzying to him, from the way she clung to him to the way she was still looking at him like he was everything she ever wanted. He still couldn't quite believe it and that was also why he couldn't quite believe what came after either.
"Can't believe I'm saying this" He started, his voice low and breathless. "But maybe Daisy has a point. I'm not complaining and I'm not saying I would have stopped on my own if you didn't or Daisy didn't walked in on us but … maybe we could slow things down just a bit. I really like you and I want to, you know, take the time to appreciate things between us. I mean look at you! You can barely keep your eyes open and there's really no need to rush this ... Does that make sense?"
"Yeah …" She sighed. "I guess but …" She let her head fall on his shoulder, her lips just an hair width away from the skin of his neck, and her hand slid from his waist to his stomach and further down, lightly grazing his erection through his trousers. "… what about you? It doesn't really seem fair to …"
He cut her off with his mouth on hers. He kissed her deeply, hungrily, as he pushed her back into the couch, his insides lighting up on fire as her hand started moving over him more firmly. He really meant what he said but the hormones rushing through him had other parts of his body thinking differently. "Jemma you don't have to …" He started as he broke the kiss for a second in a last attempt to not completely defile Daisy's couch but then she pushed his trousers and boxers down just enough to free him and he lost the battle completely. She was making delicious little noises as she attacked his neck once more with little bites and kisses and there was no way he'd have the strength to make her stop and he didn't really want to anyway. So she started stroking fast and with an eagerness that made his arousal grow tenfold and quickly brought him back to the point where he was earlier. After only a few more minutes, his body tensed and he released a heavy sigh as his orgasm washed over him.
Letting him enjoy his afterglow, she kept caressing him softly and waited a few minutes before pressing a soft kiss to his lips and moving away to grab a tissue from the box on the coffee table. She quickly came back with a wickedly pleased grin on her face as she watched him tuck himself back in.
"We can take things slowly from now on if you like …" She declared and he could only chuckle, spent as he was. "You can still sleep here though, yeah? Unless you need to go home or ..."
"I don't have to be anywhere and I don't think I can move anyway." He said, his voice still a little breathless. "I have my week-end wide open ... for you ... if you like ..."
"Good"
She snuggled back to him, prying his arm open like a cat and let her head rest on his chest, her breath on his neck a little distracting but really quite pleasant.
"Hu Jemma? Wouldn't your bed be more comfortable?" He asked as he muffled a yawn.
"Mmhmm. In a minute. You're comfy too." She replied, blindingly kissing whatever skin was within her reach before sinking even deeper into him.
"Right. In a minute."
-0-0-0-
Fitz woke up some time later with the feeling of a light weight falling over him, and not knowing if he slept ten minutes, an hour or a whole day. He cracked an eye open and was met with the sight of Jemma's face, peaceful and with her lips pulled into a small smile.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead and looked up when he finally noticed a presence at the end of the couch. He supposed she was the one who put a blanket over them too.
At some point, they had kind of fallen sideways, completely entwined and burried into the huge pile of blankets and pillows Jemma had brought earlier. But Daisy looked like she was fresh out of the shower so they mustn't have slept too long. And this time, she was looking down at them with a still amused but much softer expression.
"You know ..." She said loud enough to make Jemma stir but not open her eyes. "That's why I keep bringing in new kittens, they always end up liking you better."
"That's because I feed them …" Jemma mumbled as she patted Fitz's stomach and Daisy chuckled before walking to the kitchen where he could hear coffee brewing.
Fitz would have felt a little vexed for being downgraded from knight to kitten but Jemma threw an arm and a leg over him to pull him closer and he decided he was too busy falling back asleep all snuggled up against the lovely, lovely lady who fed him lasagna the previous night.