Prompt: I overheard you trash-talking my favorite character at the cinema and that just will not do.


"…she just isn't actually a character who's fleshed-out enough to warrant her own television show. That's all I'm saying."

Jemma grinds her teeth as the faceless man behind her ends his five-minute rant about the one of the most empowering female characters of the past decade, clenching her fists at her side and doing her utmost to keep her breaths even and her temper in check.

"And don't even get me started on Peggy Carter."

That's it.

She whips around, pushing past the people waiting behind her in line and following the grating voice of the Scottish idiot who has zero knowledge about what makes for a compelling cinematic character. When she finally locates the insufferable Scot, she plants herself in front of him and promptly jabs a finger in his chest.

"Margaret Carter is one of the strongest and most well-developed female heroines in cinematic history and I will not listen to you blather on with all of your… your incorrect thoughts and opinions and… and sheer dumbness."

The man looks at her in shock for a long moment, mouth opening and closing in fine imitation of a fish, before he glances helplessly at the man beside him, who seems to be crying with laughter. When he looks back at her, eyes flitting to the finger that is still firmly pressed to his chest, Jemma removes her hand and crosses her arms in vexation as she stares him down.

Their close proximity means that she can take in every detail of the dummy in front of her, the slight sheen of sweat from standing in the glaring sun as well as each individual piece of stubble that covers his chin. She can just as easily spot the bob of his Adam's apple as he nervously gulps at her, shifting uncomfortably before ducking his head and mumbling so softly that she likely wouldn't be able to hear him were it not for the fact that she had already popped his personal bubble.

"I… I wasn't going to diss Peggy Carter. I just… when I said not to get me started on her I meant… I was just going to say how preposterous it is that she only got two seasons to tell her story when her poorly-written male counterparts have ten pictures to tell theirs. I actually… I quite admire Peggy Carter. Reminds me of my mum."

Now it's she who is staring with her mouth open as she processes the fact that the blue-eyed man she'd thought was an utter imbecile perhaps has decent taste after all.

"Oh."

She blinks a bit sluggishly as she takes him in again, blue eyes bashfully flicking between the ground and her own as one hand rubs nervously against his neck. She finds it to be rather adorable actually and feels her own face grow a bit red at the thought.

"Right. That's… that's… I quite agree. Peggy deserved better."

The man glances up at her, a tentative smile working its way across his face as he begins to nod eagerly, and Jemma tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she shyly returns it. They stare at each other for a long moment, Jemma feeling herself growing increasingly school-girly with each passing second, before a snort of laughter comes from her right.

"Right well… Perhaps you can spare me from having to listen to Fitz ramble on about it for the next half hour and take my place in line here. This film looks like shite and I'd rather spend my money on a pint 'round the corner."

Jemma feels her mouth drop at the statement, hears an affronted scoff come from her other side, and launches into the argument that she'd been ready for since first waltzing over.

"Do you have any idea how long people have been waiting for…"

"Black Widow has deserved her own film since her first cameo and…"

"…can't even believe you would say that it looks like…"

"…shite?! Do you have no understanding of…"

"…good storytelling and developed characters and you can take your pint…"

"…and shove it."

She's a bit out of breath by the end of it but instead focuses on the fact that she had just partaken in a team-up argument. She glances over at (Fitz was it?) and grins at the pleased expression on his face. He catches her eye, giving her a beaming smile that makes Jemma think that perhaps he won't argue with her next proposal.

"As to your proposition, I will happily take your place. It'd be a shame to waste a perfectly good ticket on someone who won't appreciate the utter wonder that is Natasha Romanoff. Fitz and I will have a nice debate or two in the meantime, won't we?"

He's looking at her again in complete surprise and Jemma holds her breath for a moment as she waits for him to nod along in agreement or shake his head in denial. He does neither, instead turning back to his friend and giving him a small shove before pointing in a general direction.

"Yeah bugger off Hunter. Me and…"

"Jemma."

"Jemma, right. Me and Jemma are gonna watch Black Widow kick some butt and discuss the probability of Peggy Carter making her way to Netflix."

Her eyes light up at the mention and she immediately turns to Fitz to discuss the multitude of reasons why a Netflix revival would be wonderful for the Peggy Carter legacy. He cuts in sporadically, nodding his head in agreement and scoffing before each rebuttal, and before Jemma knows it, they're settled down in the cinema with a bucket of popcorn between them and twin faces of excitement as the Black Widow logo appears on screen.

She grins whenever Fitz leans over to make a comment, giggles when he shivers as she does the same, and ducks down with a blush when the other movie-goers shush them into silence.

And while she finds the sugar content of Slurpees to be utterly horrifying, she can't help but admire their sweetness when she presses her lips to Fitz's as the credits roll, tasting the artificial cherry flavoring with her tongue and silently thanking Peggy Carter for this happy turn of events.