You didn't give me a choice

by AgentOfShip

Since they met at the Academy when they were only sixteen, Fitz and Simmons had taken on the habit of seeking comfort in each other's. Because two friends of the opposite sex can sleep in each other's arms without it meaning anything other than friendly and platonic affection. Unless maybe it does ...

I started writing this a while ago and never posted it because I didn't know how to end it. I finally found something satisfying so here it is. Smut isn't exactly what I feel the most comfortable writing but after all this talk of season 4 being sexier, I was kind of disappointed! Fitz and Simmons didn't even share more than a few kisses on the lips. I mean we did have really beautiful emotional moments between them and I didn't expect them to have sex on screen but something in the lines of what we had in « The Singularity » would have been nice. Even Fitz's kisses with Aida were hotter than the FitzSimmon's ones (even though they felt really wrong!)

Anyway, fortunately we have fanfics to get over the disappointments from canon!

Fitz remembered perfectly well when it started. Jemma was the first one to do it of course, she'd always been more comfortable with physical contact and human interactions in general. They'd been friends for a bit more than a year, they were both seventeen and Jemma had just been through her first real break-up. Even though she kept repeating that sex was just a matter of hormones and mechanics and should have nothing to do with feelings, in the end she was still a seventeen years old girl. And when the first boy she'd ever slept with dumped her like their relationship had never meant anything, it broke her heart.

So that night, she had knocked on Fitz's dorm room door at two in the morning and barely waited for his answer before she entered. He didn't even have the time to sit up in his bed or register what was happening before she lifted the covers and slipped in bed next to him wearing one of his pyjamas she had "borrowed" some time ago. For a moment he had stayed frozen, not knowing why she was here and what she was waiting for him to do. But then he had seen her face, eyes red rimmed and puffy, her lips quivering and for one of the first times in his life, he'd turned down his brain and acted on instinct. Because for once he didn't have to analyze the situation, because she was his best friend and their unique connection made it so he knew exactly what she needed. He gathered her in his arms and let her head rest on his chest. She kept on crying as he petted her hair and whispered quiet reassurances that this stupid boy didn't deserve her anyway -which was true of course- until they both fell asleep.

After that, it became some kind of an habit. Not that it happened really often but every time she felt really bad, she'd come over to his room and join him under the covers. Sometimes they'd speak about what was bothering her but just as often, she'd just hug him tight and fall asleep in his arms. In the morning, they never felt the need to talk about it because however strange it might look to others, it felt perfectly natural to them.

It took Fitz longer to do the same. Even though he never minded when she did it and knew she probably wouldn't mind either, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Because she was a pretty girl and he was still a hormonal teenage boy and however close they were, he couldn't shake the idea that it might feel weird for a boy to barge into a girl's room uninvited.

Until his mother fell badly ill and he couldn't go home to see her because it was during their final exams. That night, he had knocked on her door and when she'd told him to come in, he'd remained awkwardly at the entrance of the room with a sheepish look on his face. That was enough for her to understand what he needed. She had given him one of those extra tender smiles he hardly ever saw on her face except when they were together, and she had lifted one corner of the covers in invitation. He'd joined her and rested his head on her stomach while, crying silent tears of worry and frustration and she threaded her fingers through his curls until they both fell asleep. A few weeks later, he learned that her mother would be fine and she smuggled beer and pop corn to his room to celebrate and once more, they woke up in the same bed.

-0-0-0-

A few years later, they graduated from the Academy and were both stationed at Sci-Ops in Boston. So it only made sense for them to take an apartment together. Sharing the rent would allow them to have a much nicer place than what they could have afforded on their own and, honestly, as the years only brought them closer, they just couldn't imagine living more a few doors from each other.

As they grew older, Fitz thought they'd get more mature and wouldn't need this kind of comfort anymore. And to some extent, it was true, they were more mature. But their life also became more complicated and more stressful so in the end, it kept happening just as often as it used to. Of course, there were a few relatively long periods of time when it didn't happen at all because one of them had a boyfriend or girlfriend. It already seemed to be a problem for some of them that two best friends of the opposite sex were so close, if they happened to seek comfort in each other's arms every time something was wrong, that would have probably ended each of their relationships even sooner.

Jemma was still the one to do it most times. Actually, with time, it seemed that she even did it even more easily than when they were teenagers. More often than not, she would do it just because she had an especially long day or a very disappointing first date and sometimes, he didn't even ask her the reason because it was obvious she just felt like it and he didn't want to embarrass her and really, because he kind of liked it and didn't want her to stop.

On the other hand, he kept it just as rare as before and could probably still remember every single time he did it and why. He didn't feel shy or weird about it anymore but Jemma had grown from a very pretty teenager to an even more beautiful woman and even if he wasn't a hormonal teenage boy anymore, he couldn't help noticing that about her, especially when she was all snuggled up against him. And of course, the fact that, at some point during their ten years of friendship, he realized that he was hopelessly in love with her, kind of complicated things.

But he'd met every one of her boyfriends over the years and if there was one thing they all had in common, it was that they had nothing in common with him. And since their friendship was so important to him, he never took his chance because whatever she'd have to say about it, he couldn't risk mucking things up completely between them.

-0-0-0-

And that's how he found himself in bed ridiculously early, once more, on a Saturday night. Because tonight Jemma had a date, and whatever the outcome, he'd decided that this was the only safe option at his disposal whenever that happened. Because if it went badly, she knew she could always come and talk to him even if he was supposedly asleep. If it went well, well ... he didn't feel like hanging around to meet the guy or hear Jemma talk about him. And if it went really well, he'd do his best to be asleep when she gets home because he could store his feelings in the back of his mind most of the time but there were some things that just hurt too much.

Of course, there was always the possibility of going out himself and try to get over her. He'd tried that a few times since he realized his feelings for her. But the only time he brought someone home, a girl that vaguely ressembled her, the small moment of pleasure and oblivion wasn't worth how bad and empty he felt in the morning. Ironically the following night had been one of the few times he'd come to her room for comfort. Fortunately she didn't ask why and acted like it was the most natural thing in the world, and for one night he could pretend that they shared the same feelings.

It had been more than a year now and since then he'd been stuck in a limbo, not able to meet anyone new and not willing to make a move on Jemma. Of course it didn't help that, for all he knew she hadn't been with anyone in a long time either, giving her all the freedom to be extra cuddly with him. He was much too weak to push her away and he knew it wasn't healthy and that something would have to change soon but what and how?

-0-0-0-

"He was supposed to be the one!" Jemma told herself as she absent mindedly listened to Jake tell her about his latest misadventure with his car. Of course she knew they were too different to work as a couple in the long term, and he obviously knew it too, but he was nice, very attractive and kind of charming in his own way. They had kissed after their first date a week ago and it had been very satisfying, so when she had left her apartment a few hours earlier, it was with the firm intention of bringing him home and breaking this dry spell that's been going on for way too long.

But as she heard Jake talk about all the trouble he had with his car, all she could think of was how Fitz would not only be able to fix it in no time but he could probably also turn it into an helicopter or something. Or at least he'd make it an actually interesting anecdote. And when she tried to change the subject and started pointing out all the scientific inacuracies in the movie they just saw, he smiled politely, clearly not understanding what she was talking about. Once again her mind drifted off towards Fitz who would debate with her endlessly about the theoretical feasibility of this technology or that one.

And once more, she knew she would go home alone. Sometimes, she envied her friends who were able to have a one night stand with someone they found utterly uninteresting but physically attractive. Obviously Jemma wasn't able to do that anymore. It had been almost a year now and even her skyrocketting sexual frustration couldn't convince her to. Because the more she got to talking with Jake, the less attractive he became. She needed a man who was able to stimulate her intellectually at least a little before she could think of having sex with him. Because not only intelligence had always been a big turn-on for her, but it seemed that it was now the most essential criteria.

-0-0-0-

"Sooo ... it's still early. Do you want to come and have one last drink at my place? I don't live far from here ..." Jake asked with that wide seductive smile she had found so charming the previous week and convinced her to dress the way she was dressed that night.

Since they'd finished eating, he had been hinting, not very subtly, that they could take things to the next level, and now that they were outside of the restaurant, she kept searching for a way to let him go easy, without hurting his feelings too much. Obviously Jake didn't have the same problem she had when it came to sleeping with someone he had nothing in common with.

"Ah that would have been nice but I-I had a really long week, I'm really knackered and I should probably go to bed early ..." She answered, trying her best to stifle a fake yawn.

"Oh come on it's Saturday ..." He insisted, stepping closer into her personal space, smiling mischievously. And the way it made her instinctively recoil instead of making her want to come even closer confirmed that she definitely wouldn't sleep with him.

"And I have a really nice bottle of Bordeaux for us!" He added, winking and it was all she could do not to roll her eyes at him.

He didn't even care to notice she only drank white wine during both of their dates. Fitz always knew exactly what kind of wine to get whenever they went out to dinner or just because he wanted to do something nice for her really. And now that she thought of it, what she wanted the most at the moment was to get home to her best friend so they could have a glass of the wine he'd brought home two days ago to celebrate the success of their project. And she wouldn't even pretend to go to sleep in her own bed that night before joining him to cuddle against his side and wonder why she even tried to spend time with other people.

She'd been doing that more and more often recently, even when she wasn't even feeling especially bad. Fitz seemed to like it as much as she did why deny themselves something that made them both feel so nice? She never slept as peacefully as when she was in his arms and since they started their field training a year ago, he'd started filling up nicely around the chest and shoulders and he'd become incredibly comfortable, less bony and more fleshy. Not to mention how even more attractive it made him.

And that's when it hit her. Hard. So hard that she actually physically stepped back.

"No I'm sorry Jake, I should really go now! Another time maybe!" She let out wincing, knowing perfectly well she'd never see him again. And before he had the time to insist, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, hoping it'd be a clear sign that nothing more would happen between them, and started walking -well almost running in fact- towards her car. Fortunately, he seemed to get the message because he didn't try to follow her. She knew it would have been nicer to be perfectly clear about it but she didn't break his hopes for a happy relationship after all, just a good night of sex. And for the moment, she had more pressing matters to focus on. Something to do with her own happiness and probably her whole future.

She only had a fifteen minutes drive to get home but she couldn't get there fast enough. God, how could she be so blind for so many years?

-0-0-0-

A bit before eleven that night, Fitz heard the sound of the door to their apartment opening and closing back a few seconds later, and he panicked. He was starting to fall asleep but the noise was enough to wake him up and from the way she had talked about that guy the last time and the way she was dressed when she left, there was no way she was coming home alone. Unless she'd been to his place and it was so disappointing that she didn't want to spend the night. But that was more wishful thinking than probability. For a moment he considered trying one of those ridiculous exercises that are supposed to help you fall asleep really fast but then he noticed how silent it was.

The walls of their apartment were quite thin and unless they were really extra silent, which was unlikely since Jemma was always uncharacteristically giggly when she was flirting, she was probably alone. "So ... maybe whatsisname wasn't so great after all!" Fitz thought, trying to temper down his enthusiasm. Maybe she came back home alone tonight but it was only a matter of time before she found someone worthy of her attention in the long term, and he wouldn't be able to avoid him by going to bed early every day for the rest of their lives.

But Fitz was interrupted in his musings by the sound of a quiet knock on his door and Jemma coming in a second later without waiting for him to tell her to. He would have to have a conversation with her about privacy some time. Because he was still a 26 years old young man who hadn't had sex in over a year and there were certain things he could be doing alone in his room at night that he definitely wouldn't want his best friend-slash-secret love of his life to see.

When she saw that he was obviously still awake, Jemma walked to his bed and lifted the covers to join him. She pried his arm open, not unlike his cat back home in Glasgow used do when it was cold, and snuggled up against his side, her head on his shoulder and her arm splayed across his chest. That's when he remembered that it's been quite hot that day and he was sleeping only in his boxers and considering the short summer dress she was wearing, there was a lot more of their skin in contact than he was used to and his adam's apple bobbed hard. God, he hoped she wasn't planning on falling asleep in his arms wearing that! If there was one thing in life that put your self control to the test on a daily basis, it was being in love with your best friend who had no notion of personal space at all.

"So I take it tonight didn't go as planned?" He asked, trying to sound sympathetic about it and not too happy. But it was a bit hard when whatsisface was alone in his apartment, probably too stupid to realize what he could have done wrong, and Fitz could smell Jemma's warm breath so close to his ear. His hand started stroking her bare shoulder softly and he couldn't help smiling a bit when he realized it made her shiver. It wasn't much but as pathetic as it was, it felt nice to know his touch didn't leave her completely unaffected.

"Oh it wasn't so bad really ..." She let out quietly while softly drawing circles on his chest with the tip of her fingers. Coupled with the fact that she had casually wedged one of her legs between his, it was clear that she obviously had no idea of what it was doing to him.

"So what's wrong? Oh no he's out there in the living room waiting for you, is he?" He asked, grinning, knowing perfectly well it wasn't the case.

"Fitz!" She cried out, giggling a bit.

"I've told you already, I'm not interested in a threesome ... at least not that kind!" He let out, grinning even wider. Of course he wasn't interested in any kind of threesome with her. In the off chance that he'd get to be with her someday, he wouldn't want to share her with anyone, man or woman. But somehow, joking about his attraction for her had become some kind of defense mechanism.

"Urgh Fitz! It wasn't funny when you said it about Milton and it still isn't!" She sighed with a fond eye roll and swatted his chest before resuming her previous activity.

They remained silent for what felt like quite some time, to the point where he actually felt himself drifting back to sleep. Until Jemma let out a contented sigh. She didn't seem bothered for a second that he was basically naked save for his boxers. If anything, she seemed to appreciate cuddling to him even more than usual, the movement of her fingers on his torso turning to caresses, like she wanted to draw a mental map of his skin. Then her hand started going further down, tracing the faint lines of his newly developing abdominal muscles and he was starting to wonder what ...

His train of thoughts came to a halt when she pressed a small kiss to his jaw. Not that she never did that, she tended to get extra affectionate when she needed comfort, but after years he still wasn't used to the feeling. Of course, he should probably have told her not to do it because, especially since he realized his feelings for her, it clearly meant something very different for him and for her. But he was only a man and when it came to Jemma, he was weak and as long as it was just one kiss it was harmless right? Except that this time her lips lingered a few seconds longer than usual and when she detached her lips from him, it was only to reattach them a little lower on his neck then a little lower right at the junction of his neck and shoulder where his skin was so sensitive. And suddenly it felt a little wet and he realized that she'd started laying open mouth kisses that felt definitely more than a friendly affection and it was all he could do not to moan in acute arousal.

"Jemma ..." He managed to let out, his voice barely a whisper, confused and scared of braking the spell all at once.

"You know I'm a bit mad at you Fitz ..." She whispered back.

He turned his face towards hers really fast and let out a small gasp of surprise, both at her words, the breathy tone of her voice and the way her face was now dangerously close to his. She was smiling at him incredibly tenderly and his brows furrowed in total confusion. Talk about mixed signal here!

"Hu?" He asked eloquently and her smile only grew wider.

"You finally did it you know … you ruined other men for me Fitz ..."

"What?!" He asked feeling even more confused.

But in lieu of an answer, she closed the small gap between them and pressed her lips to his. The contact was in the same time so unexpected and so wanted that he almost recoiled from the shock of it. But already way too far gone after her neck kisses and her caresses, his lizard brain took the lead and he kissed her back. Her lips were incredibly soft and tasted of chocolate and a little wine and perfection. After the initial shock, it grew heated in very little time and when she parted her lips to suck his bottom lip between hers, the hand that's been hovering awkwardly close to her shoulder, finally landed on her neck and up into her hair as her own was holding on tightly to his shoulder. It was such a pure powerful rush of pleasure and happiness that he felt tears starting to pool in his eyes and it's only when she let out a small moan in the back of her throat that his actual brain came back to life and he broke the kiss. It was probably the best moment of his life and it took all his willpower not to recapture her lips immediately. But it was also the most confusing thing that's ever happened to him and he had to know what it meant because if it lasted ten more seconds, it would likely kill him if he wasn't allowed to do it again, preferably for the rest of his life.

"Jemma? What-why did you ... What?" He asked, completely out of breath and wide eyed and she laughed. "Well done Fitz, real smooth, now you sound like a broken talking action figure!" He thought as her laugh turned to a wide smile.

"God ... it's been so long ... I should have ..." She sighed contentedly and his face fell.

"Oh ... so that's what it is then?" He cut her off, suddenly moving away from her, half sitting up, and her brows furrowed in hurt and confusion.

"What is what Fitz? I don't ..."

"It's been a long time for you, your date didn't go as planned so you thought good old Fitz could help you ..."

« What? What are you … Oh god no Fitz! No!" She cried out, anger flashing behind her eyes. "Urgh ... Way to spoil the moment! Who do you think I am? Do you really think I could just use you like that?" She asked, poking her finger into his chest with every word and he had to refrain from crying out in pain under the surprising strength of her hand.

"Then what Jemma? I don't understand anything of what's happening here ..."

"Well maybe if you let me finish my sentences you would ... No Fitz I think ... no I KNOW-I know I wanna be with you but not just for ... you know, for real. And I know it's sudden and unexpected but tonight I finally understood why all my dates for the past years had been such huge disappointments. I kept comparing every man I dated to you and they were never even close to being as good as you are and even if they looked like it, well they wouldn't really be because they're not you ... And whatever happened, in the end I've always wanted to come back to you ..." She let out and even though he wasn't sure he understood everything but it actually sounded like she felt something more than friendship.

"So you ... wanna be with me?" He asked and she rolled her eyes in exasperation but at least the anger was gone from her face.

"Yes Fitz! But I'm starting to question how smart you truly are because ..."

"And what? You thought you could just come home and kiss me and I'd just roll with it?" He asked, crossing his arms on his chest, trying to look serious, which was kind of spoiled by the fact that his curls were mussed from how he'd been tossing and turning in bed for the past half hour.

"Oh God no Fitz!" She cried out in frustration. "It's just, when you suddenly realize you've fallen in love with your best friend of ten years, you don't want to wait anymore to tell him. And you smelt so nice and I-I kind of got swept up in the moment and the way you kissed me back Fitz god ... I-I thought you felt something too but now I'm ..."

« You-you ... love me?" He cut her off, his eyes wide and voice raw with emotion.

"Yes Fitz ... Because after being so close to you for the past ten years I just don't have a choice anymore ... YOU didn't give me any other choice but to fall in love with you ... " She answered, looking more vulnerable than he ever saw her.

"Good ... cause I'm madly in love with you too!" He let out and cupped her jaw to bring her face up and kiss her passionately. She instantly brought her hands behind his neck and used it as leverage to sit up a bit as well and melt into him. This time, his arms were around her waist and shoulders and she didn't even try to suppress the moan that came out of her when he slanted her mouth open with the tip of his tongue and deepened the kiss. Now that he knew what this totally unexpected and absolutely wonderful new development really meant, he didn't feel the need to refrain anymore. Their lips were gliding sensually over each other's and their tongues were tangling in perfect synchrony. It was everything he ever imagined it would be and then some.

"God you're infuriating!" She let out in fond exasperation when they broke the kiss for a moment and he grinned widely.

"But you love me for it, don't yommmphhh ..."

She cut him off with another heated kiss, the way she slid her hands in his hair sending shivers down his spine. And even though their first kisses had been the reflection of the way they always worked together in perfect synchrony, this time she was clearly taking control. The way she held his face in her hands and stood up on her knees, forcing him to turn his face up, was incredibly sexy. After years of longing for her and dreaming about how it would be like to kiss her, her eagerness made him happy and turned him on beyond belief and he'd be glad to let her take the lead and call her boss if it was always so brilliant.

But the kiss ended just as abruptly as it started and he let out a rather pathetic whimper at the loss of contact.

"Wait! When you say you're in love with me, does this mean you knew? Before tonight I mean?" She asked, putting her hands on his chest to stop him from kissing her again.

"Well ... yeah I did ..." He answered as he moved to take the same position she had to be able to face her, only later realizing that he still only wore his boxer shorts. He silently prayed that she wouldn't look down now because his brain and his heart weren't the only part of him reacting to her kisses.

"How long?" She asked and he blushed a bit.

"Mmhh ... two maybe three ..."

"Months?"

"... years ..."

"WHAT?!"

"Well I can't really say for sure, I didn't exactly have an epiphany, it was a gradual process I think and at some point I just ..."

"No Fitz!" She cut him off. "I don't care if it was exactly two years or two years and a half! The point is that it's been a really long time! How come you never said anything?" She asked and he looked down sheepishly.

"I don't know Jemma ... You're obviously much braver than I am but I ... it seemed so unlikely that you felt the same and I couldn't have lived with myself if I messed up what we had ... so maybe I was waiting for an exceptional situation where I wouldn't have a choice or I don't know an outburst of courage ... actually I did almost tell you the night of your last birthday but you fell asleep before I could get to the love part of my speech ..."

"Oh Fitz ..." She whispered, her voice incredibly soft as she caressed his cheek. "But so what? You would have let me go on date after date until maybe one of them went better than the others ... without ever telling me anything and never knowing if something would have been possible between us?"

"But are you even sure you would have felt the same if I told you two years ago or even two months? Maybe we needed all this time to be in the same place ... and like I said ... it was so unlikely ... and can you blame me? Have you seen all the guys you ever dated? Be honest Jemma, you never had a soft spot for skinny nerdy engineers and I don't blame you really ..." He said, chuckling self-deprecatively.

"And have you noticed how all my relationships with these guys never lasted more than a few months? And yeah of course Fitz, as a teenager I tended to go for the tall, dark and handsome cliché but that didn't mean I couldn't also be attracted by incredibly smart, sweet and boyishly handsome and the only person I always want to see even when I want to be alone!" She cried out, letting her hands slide further down his chest with a small smile he couldn't help reciprocating through the huge blush that had taken hold of his face. "And look at you, I could drown in those blue eyes and I swear you're really not skinny anymore ..." She said, her eyes traveling down from his chest to his knees, lingering a second longer at the sight of his very obvious erection stretching out his boxers. "Not that it's ever been a problem anyway ..." She added, biting her lower lip teasingly.

"Hum ... I-Jemma I don't know what ..." He started, taking her hand in his to intertwine their fingers together on his chest and she smiled softly.

"If I knew all these years how easy it was to shut you up ..." She teased and he rolled his eyes. "But really, these past few years I've been sleeping in your bed more and more often and you knew that most times, I didn't even need comfort, I just felt like it because nothing put me in a better mood than a night spent in your arms ... You should have guessed my feelings were probably not 100% platonic and friendly!" She added and he grinned mischievously.

"But don't you think YOU should have guessed then?" he teased and it was her time to roll her eyes.

"Urgh Fitz! Why do you always have to contradict me?"

"Because it'd be boring if I agreed with you all the time! Remember Milton?" He said and they both winced at the memory of her boyfriend from the Academy.

"Touché!" She said and they both smiled tenderly at each other.

This time when they kissed, they met in the middle. It was slow and tender and taking its time. He engulfed her in a tight hug as he deepened the kiss and she melted into him, her arms taking residence around his shoulders. When his hands started going down towards the curve of her arse of their own volition, she let out a breathless "Fitz!" against his mouth that went straight to his guts. The tentative squeeze he gave her then made her hips twitch forward and this time he was the one to moan her name.

When they stopped for air, they still rested their forehead against each other and laughed together, drunk on lust and happiness and each other. They remained like that for a moment until Jemma started kissing him again, first on the lips then down towards his ear and neck. And sensing the trail of pebbled skin forming on his skin, she let her own hands descend towards his bum and as he let out a small gasp of surprise, she hummed in appreciation.

"Mmmhh I knew it'd feel as nice as it looks!" She grinned and pulled him tight against her, pushing her own hips forward.

"Fuck!" He cried out and she chuckled. "But I thought you ..." He started breathless. Now there was no way for her to ignore the tent in his boxers and it felt totally unreal that not only she didn't mind but she also encouraged it.

"What? You don't need to be in love to notice your best friend's perfect little ass!" She grinned before resuming her kisses. And he couldn't really find anything to say against that so he just tilted his head back and let her do that very interesting thing she was doing with her tongue on the skin just below his ear. To think that his highest hope for tonight was to be asleep by the time Jemma came home with her date and that she'd make him leave before breakfast so they could have their usual Sunday brunch together. Instead, they were in his bed, albeit in quite a strange position on their knees in the middle of it and whatsisface was probably crying himself to sleep at the moment. Fitz had his hands on Jemma's waist and even more perfect round bottom while she was driving him slowly but effectively mad with kisses and her hands were descending towards his bum again and ... oh god she was pushing his boxers down!

An alarm sounded in his head at that moment and he pushed back a bit. Of course he'd been thinking about this for years and there was nothing he wanted more but it was a bit scary how things were going from being best friends to kissing and confessing their love for each other to having sex in under half an hour!

"Wait Jemma! I really like where this is going, trust me I really do but ... don't you think this is going a bit too fast?" He asked and she laughed fondly.

"Too fast? Fitz, it's been ten years!" She let out with a wide smile and he shrugged. "Oh no but you're right, maybe we should go on a few dates to get to know each other better ... I mean what do I know about you really after only ten years? What are your hobbies and where do you come from to have such a strange accent and ..."

"OKAY!" He cut her off, playfully putting his hand on her mouth to stop her. "Okay I get it, it's a bit ridiculous I guess I wasn't thinking straight, I ..."

"Oh no really you're right, I think I'm gonna need you to romance me for a bit before I let you get to second base ..." She started, her voice muffled by his hand and this time he cut her off, much more effectively, with a hard kiss on the lips, sliding his tongue between her lips and tangling it with her own until she released a loud moan.

"If that's how you wanna play it ..." He whispered against her lips when they broke the kiss for a moment and in a surprising bout of strength and agility he would probably never be able to repeat, he slid his hands down to her thighs, lifted her up for a moment and let her fall back, less gently than he'd wanted, flat on her back on the mattress. She let out a loud delighted squeak and started laughing but it soon died down when he toppled over her and started kissing his way down her throat and collarbone.

"Oh I plan to romance. the. hell. out. of. you ..." He whispered against her skin, punctuating each word with a kiss and reveling at the accelerating rise and fall of her chest as he was getting closer to the sensitive skin of her upper breast, partly bare thanks to the relatively low cut of her dress.

-0-0-0-

"First you're going to put on your nicest dress and I'll put on my nicest ... well-only suit really ..." He whispered in her ear before pulling away from her and taking her hand in his. " ... and I'll take you to that awfully expensive french restaurant you always wanted to go to ..." He said against her knuckles before kissing them and Jemma giggled. Then he started going up laying feather like kisses until he reached her elbow and moved towards the inside to mouth at the sensitive skin there and her giggles turned into breathy chuckles.

"Fitz?"

"Hmhmm?" He answered, the sound vibrating against her skin and she shivered.

"Are you going all Gomez Addams on me?" She asked breathlessly.

"Of course … We always said it was the most romantic couple ever, right?" He answered with a teasing tone as he started tracing the inside of her arm with his tongue. "Are you complaining?" He added, his brogue much stronger than usual. She knew he tended to go full on Scottish when he was angry or drunk but she never considered the fact that it would also be the case when he was aroused ... or that it would turn her on so much.

"'m not ..." Was all she could answer and he grinned when she tilted her head to the side as much as she could to let him carry on his mission of mapping out the integrality of her skin.

"So ... we'll get to that restaurant and order a very expensive bottle of champagne and you'll protest because we don't have that kind of money but I'll order it anyway because you love it and I love it when you're drunk on bubbles ..." He continued and she giggled both at the adorableness of his statement and from the way his slight stubble was tickling her skin where he kissed along her collarbone.

"God ... you smell amazing ..." He let out, his voice muffled as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, momentarily abandoning his leisurely pace for a more passionate form of seduction, nipping and sucking at her skin there while one of his hands wandered in her hair and the other along her side. He was slowly driving her crazy with the low tone of his voice and the sensuality of his ministrations all while voluntarily avoiding her most erogenous zones.

She took advantage of his loss of focus to thread her fingers through his curls and bring his face back up to capture his lips once more and kiss him deeply. With Fitz effectively distracted, she snaked her hand down his back and inside his boxer to grip his cute little arse and push him tighter against her, making them both moan in synchrony. It was true that he wasn't the biggest or most muscled of all the men she's been with but very few of them could compete with what he had in his boxers … apparently on both sides from what she could feel. She knew it was mostly fortunate genetics but ...

"Oooohh!" She cried out as he ground against her, hitting just the right spot.

"Of course after a few drinks you'd start getting aggressively flirty and oh ..." She gave his butt one more squeeze and when he looked down at her she gave him a smug little smile he effectively wiped away with a little roll of his hips, turning it into a gasp of pleasure. Their competitiveness seemed to be in full effect tonight and she knew how tremendously good the results could be when they were like that. And she expected it to be no different when it came to this new side of their partnership.

"So as I was saying, at this point you'd probably start flirting by casually taking off your cardigan to show off more cleavage -don't think I haven't seen you do it already- and of course I'd be powerless to resist ..." Falling back beside her, he rested on one elbow and, with his other hand, made the straps of her dress and bra slide over her shoulders.

She was already missing the movement of his hips against hers and he was torturously slow, but knowing how precise and thorough he could be in other aspects of his life, she suspected that whatever was his final goal, it would be worth the wait.

He reattached his lips directly on top of her breast just over her heart and started alternating between nipping and kissing until he reached the space between her breast where they were kind of squished together by her push up bra -god she really went all the way this time- and he slipped his tongue in between as far as he could, wiggling it teasingly against her sensitive skin before going back up the other side.

"Fitz!" She breathed out, her chest heaving faster and faster. At this point, her moaning became almost a constant. She could feel the smug smile on his face as he kept on kissing and talking and she would have kissed it off if it wasn't so bloody sexy.

"And at the end of the meal ..." As he kept on kissing and licking the skin at the edge of her dress and bra, he made the straps slide a little lower. "I would have to insist that you take a dessert ..." And even lower until she had to lift her arms a bit to take it off completely. "... probably something with chocolate ..." He said as he went back up to kiss her languidly on the lips where she actually probably still tasted of chocolate. She couldn't understand why this talk of food and champagne was actually turning her on. He must have rubbed off on her over the years.

As he did, one of his hands finally went back up to palm her through her bra and gently pinch her already erect nipple.

"Fitz!" She moaned loudly. "Please ... take it off ..." Ignoring her plea, he kept on fondling her through the lacy fabric but his head went down until he could catch the edge of the other lacy cup and drag it down with his teeth, finally freeing one of her breasts.

"And it will. be. BLOODY. DELICIOUS." He added, punctuating every word with a kiss before capturing her nipple into his mouth and sucking on it, making her moan louder than she ever thought herself capable of at this point.

To think that all this time, she'd been through a series of disappointing dates and relationships while living with the sweetest, smartest, most handsome man she knew who seemed to like foreplay more than anyone she's ever met and she had no idea ...

As he moved to the other breast and started caressing her stomach under her dress, she realized she'd been lying there completely passive for quite some time and it wasn't like her. In bed, she was often the most active one and whatever she was doing with Fitz, it's always been a balanced ebb and flow but at the moment, he had turned her into putty under his sinful hands and lips and that was unacceptable.

She pulled his head back up to kiss him hungrily and as his hands replaced his mouth on her breast, she pulled him fully on top of her and spread her legs to welcome him in the cradle of her hips. The position sent another rush of arousal straight to her center and from the way his hands stilled on her chest and he grunted, it seemed to affect him just as much.

But when he broke the kiss, he lifted his head enough to look at her in the eyes and there was lust but also an incredible amount of tenderness. She couldn't help the wide smile that made its way on her face as she looked at the beautiful face that had probably become her favorite sight in the world without her even noticing it until tonight.

"What is it?" She asked breathlessly.

"I'm still not a hundred percents sure that this is not a dream. I still think there's a chance that the real you is going to walk into this room and wake me up because of the noises I'm making and it's going to be terribly embarrassing!" Fitz said and she burst out laughing.

"Well ... if real me is a bit smarter than I've been these past ten years, she'll join you and finish the job I started ..." She answered, cupping his jaw and lightly scratching his light stubble. She liked that stubble, it made his nicely chiseled jaw stand out and the lighter hair in it made his eyes stand out even more. "Did you grow this out for me?" She asked.

"Mmmh ... yeah ..." He answered, blushing. The adorable man was blushing to admit that he did something to please her when he seemed perfectly comfortable having his mouth latched on to her nipple just a minute ago. "You said it looked nice on the week-end when I didn't shave and I thought ... I don't know ... maybe if I let the scruff grow, maybe she'll realize how handsome I am and fall in love with me!" He let out with a self deprecative laugh. "Pretty ridiculous hu?"

"Oh Fitz ..." She whispered before pulling him down for another kiss. "I do like it ... makes the kissing interesting too ..." She added in a seductive tone.

"Mmhmm?"

"Yeah ..."

With that he crashed his lips against hers again and if her arousal has had time to level a bit as they were talking, the teasing of his tongue against hers was soon bringing her back to the same level and she started grinding her pelvis against his erection to release her aching need. Thankfully, her dress being relatively short and not too tight, it had hiked up and pooled around her waist some time ago already and the only barrier between them were her knickers and his boxers. She lifted up her legs and hooked them just under his bum to feel even closer to him.

"Jemma ..." He moaned against her lips before diverting his kisses down to her neck, kissing her there like he was kissing her lips and she probably should have found that too wet but coupled with the way he kept repeating her name with a brogue so thick it was probably palpable, it turned her on beyond comprehension. She ground her hips harder against him and it spurned him on. Like he did earlier, he started moving his hips in earnest and hit the right spot immediately, making her see stars for a moment. Either he was really lucky or he was just that good and she would have no choice but to repeat the experiment to come to a conclusion.

"God Fitz!" She cried out and emboldened by her reaction he let one of his hands descend on her leg to caress her, passing her bum then her thigh and calf then back up until it took residence on her butt cheek and used his grip to pull her closer and hike it higher around his hip. She was about to protest that there was a limit to how bendable she was but then he ground against her once more and ...

"Oh!" She moaned loudly. The new angle had opened her a bit more and now the tip of his cock made a path from her entrance to her clit on every up stroke and suddenly she realized she was very close to orgasm. "Fitz I'm-I'm so ... I'm so close ... we should-oh-we should grab a condom while we ..."

"No ..." He said, his voice at the same time teasing and tender. « Let me get you there first ... and then ... we'll have plenty of time ... for the rest ..." He added as he interrupted himself with deep kisses to the lips every few words, leaving her even more breathless than she was.

She tried to protest but then his other hand came back to tease at her nipple and she lost the ability to form coherent sentences. She grabbed his bum under his boxers once more and pushed him even harder against her hoping he'd get the message. He started thrusting harder and faster and somehow the fact that he was doing it against her and not inside made it weirdly erotic and she responded to his grunts of pleasure and exertion by her own very enthusiastic squeals of ecstasy. She couldn't believe that Fitz, her sweet angelic best friend Fitz was getting her off this hard only with some touching and -quite energetic- frottage. So many men were eager to get to the finish line as fast as possible that she was delighted to get to experience what Fitz had to offer before she could get to see what they would be able to do with their clothes off.

After a minute of this, Fitz let go of her breast but before she even had the time to whimper about it, he brought his hand to her leg to hike it up just as high as the other one and that's what did it. After a few more powerful thrusts, she felt the tingling in her toes that soon transformed into explosions from her center and she cried out his name repeatedly until she felt like she had no breath left in her lungs. He slowed down his pace considerably and released her legs but kept on moving gently against her to make her pleasure last as long as possible.

-0-0-0-

"Hi" He said when she opened her eyes and looked up at him. She'd been laying flat on the mattress, her breath still ragged and letting out small whimpers as aftershocks of pleasure seemed to be coursing through her once in a while. He couldn't help the pleased little smile at the sight of his brilliant best friend looking so completely sated and disheveled on his bed of all places.

When she made eye contact, her reaction was not what he expected though, because she suddenly gasped, bringing her hand in front of her mouth as if in surprise then burst out laughing.

"Hey!" He cried out, feeling a bit offended. "What is it? What's so funny ..."

"Nothing Fitz it's just ..." She cut him off between two fits of giggle. "It's just it was so ..."

"... Funny?" He finished for her with an annoyed tone.

"No of course not Fitz! Don't be such a grump ... not now of all times!" She answered with a roll of her eyes, her laughter finally dying down. Turning around to face him, she pulled him into a hug and hooked her leg around his hip. And as much as he wanted to keep being grumpy until she explained her reaction, it was hard to do so when he was surrounded by the wonderful smell of her and she was pressed so tightly against him. And it was all he could do not to moan when she pressed her hips against his still painfully hard penis.

"I think I made it pretty clear how much I enjoyed myself it's just ..." She started, letting out a loud contented sigh. "It's not how I expected my first time with Leo Fitz would be ..." She finished.

"Oh ... And what did you ... Wait wait ... Does that mean you expected something? I thought you didn't realize how you felt before tonight?" He asked, extracting his face from her neck to look at her and she gave him a lascivious smile.

"Well yeah that's true it's just ... you've been my male best friend, my increasingly attractive male best friend for ten years and well ... sometimes the mind wanders and there might have been a few confusing dreams ..." She answered and his brows went almost up to his hairline.

"Oh come on don't tell me you never even thought about it with me!" She added, swatting his chest lightly. "Even before your feelings started changing I mean." She finished with a defiant eyebrow.

"Well no of course I did!" He answered with a slightly sheepish expression. "I was a horny lonely teenager but you were-I mean I didn't think you ..."

"What? Do you think I was a pure little flower?" She cut him off with a fond eye-roll.

"No!" He cried out. "Of course no, I know women have the same kinds of needs and thoughts, it's just I never thought anyone could have those about me, especially back then ..." He finished and her smile turned infinitely softer as she pulled him back into a hug.

"Well I did and I know for a fact that I wasn't the only one." She whispered in his ear and it sent a shiver down his spine.

"What?! Really?"

"Oh yeah … Don't underestimate the power of blue eyes and a romantic Scottish accent on horny young American women!"

"Hmmm ... Do you have names? 'Cause you know I wouldn't mind catching up with a few old friends ..." He started with a teasing tone.

"Urgh Fitz!" She cried out, trying to push him away from her but he didn't let go of her and he soon ended up flat on his back with Jemma on top of him. "No way, you're not getting any names, you're mine now!" She added and he could feel his heart flutter at those words. He'd dreamed of her saying something like that for so long that now it almost felt unreal.

"Is that a promise?" He asked, trying to sound teasing but his voice was shaking a bit, unable to hide the emotions running wild in his heart at the moment.

"Yeah ... yeah I think it is ..." She answered before pressing her lips to his for a slow but incredibly hot kiss. The way she slipped her tongue between his lips to tease maddeningly at his own tongue sent a rush of heat down south and he could feel himself getting even harder.

"Well hello there ..." She said in a teasing low voice as they broke the kiss.

"So hum ... what did you actually expect?" He asked, trying his best not to whimper when she moved to sit back on top of him, effectively straddling his hips. "Maybe I can ... hum ... do something about it ..."

"Oh really? Well ...it's just you're such a romantic, I was kind of expecting a beach at sunset, music, rose petals, things like that ... not hot, wild and dirty ..." She said, blushing a bit. Jemma didn't blush easily and it was quite funny seing her do it, considering the position she was in. "Not that I'm complaining really, it was just quite surprising ..."

"Oh ... Well if I got to describe that date until the end, you would know there was no beach or sunset but I would have taken you away from the city and through the forest ..."

"Well that sounds more serial killer than romantic to me!" She cut him off and he rolled his eyes at her.

"Jem ..."

"Sorry sorry ..." She answered with a slightly sheepish smile. "Please continue!"

"So I would taken us through the forest to this nice clearing I've spotted once and from where you can see the stars without any light pollution whatsoever. And of course I would have brought blankets so we could lie down to watch it and more champagne ... or tea depending on the weather and well ... I would have been prepared for whatever might happen!"

"Oh … Well now I really wanna go on that date someday!" She breathed out with a soft tone as she moved forward to press a tender kiss to his lips. He took that opportunity to cup her cheek in his hand and turn the kiss into something more heated. His arousal was sky rocketing once more and it was starting to be hard to control himself. "But for now, will you please make me see stars the other way?" She whispered into his ear.

"Hell yes!" He cried out in response and immediately crashed his lips against hers in a messy kiss that was all tongue and teeth but from the way she moaned into his mouth, she didn't seem to mind. His hands slid down her back to grab the hem of her dress that had hiked up almost to her waist and he pulled it up. She detached herself from him just long enough to pull it over her head and throw it down on the ground with a toothy grin. Before he had the time to do anything, she went for the clasp of her bra and took it off as well and he couldn't stop the small gasp that came out of his mouth.

Seing "bits" of her earlier was really nice but it didn't compare to seing her almost completely naked now, especially from that angle. She gave him another wide grin at his reaction but there was also some tenderness in there. Using his elbows, he pushed himself into a seating position and pulled her against him.

"God you're beautiful ..." He whispered close to her ear as he sucked her nipple into his mouth, biting it teasingly. She let out a small throaty chuckle at that and started rolling her hips against him, making them both moan in concert. This coupled with the feeling of her hands in his hair was driving him the very good kind of crazy but he would definitely need to move things along really quick or he would soon be in trouble.

Going left, he kissed the skin of her lower breast before sucking the nipple in and slowly let one of his hands descend towards the elastic of her knickers. Feeling no resistance from her, he kept going down until his fingers made contact with her lips. Moaning loudly as he stroked her sensitive skin, he took that as a sign of encouragement and kept going further until his middle finger came in contact with her clit and he started drawing circles around it.

"Fitz!" She cried out, her voice breathless and head thrown back in pleasure. Even in his dreams, she's never been like that and he couldn't help laughing internally for a second. Even his unconscious couldn't let him imagine that Jemma would ever feel that way about him. Of course this small moment of reflexion was cut short by Jemma snaking her hand between them to give him a few strokes through his boxers. Not that it was necessary, he was probably as hard as he would ever be.

"Fitz ..." She breathed out again. "Do you have ..."

"Yeah ... yeah in the drawer next to ... here just let me ..." He said breathlessly as he gently grabbed her hips and moved her off of him to turn around and grab the box in the drawer of his bedside table. As he did, he remembered how long it's been since he got to use those and prayed to the gods he didn't believe in -and what kind of god did you pray to about this anyway- that they were still good to use.

"Yes!" He thought. Six whole months left to use them! If things went well, he would need a new box long before that anyway.

By the time he turned back towards her, divested himself of his boxer and put the condom on, Jemma was already waiting for him and he would have felt self conscious being fully naked in front of her if she didn't look at him like she wanted to eat him all up. Smiling widely, she pushed him back against the cushions to straddle him. Resting her hands on his chest for balance, she started grinding her clit against the length of him once more and it was all he could do not to close his eyes and let himself get lost in the sensation.

"Jemma ..." He said, his tone pleading. And she got the message because she went down to kiss him languidly before aligning them and slowly descending on him. The feel of her finally surrounding him was so good that he couldn't stop himself from grunting at the contact. She pulled away slowly to push back down a few times, most likely to get used to the sensation. He knew it's been quite some time for her as well and honestly, he was glad about it because it gave him time to let his pleasure build up slowly and last long enough for her to hopefully achieve orgasm one more time.

As she started rolling her hips in small circles at a more rapid pace, his hands went up to her hips to help her keep her balance. Looking up at her, he couldn't believe how sexy she was, her hair all wild, head thrown back in pleasure and all this smooth freckled skin he only ever got a few glimpses of over the years. Suddenly, it felt impossible to resist the temptation to touch it. Letting go of her hips, he slowly went up her stomach and took hold of her breasts, fondling and rolling her nipples between his fingers in time with the movement of her hips.

"Fitz!" She moaned and brought her head back down. The look of pure lust she gave him at this moment sent another rush of heat through his body and he hoped she was getting closer because he woudn't last long if they kept going that way.

From the way she abandoned her languid movements and started rocking hard against him, she apparently was. Bending his knees a bit and planting his feet firmly on the mattress, he started to thrust up to intensify the feeling. It took them a moment to synchronize, as far gone as they were. But when it did, Jemma's moan became a constant and he knew he was on the edge. Grabbing her bum to bring them even closer to each other when their hips met, he gave a few last powerful thrusts and finally came with a loud cry of her name. It wasn't like him to be so loud but he'd wanted this for so long that his cry was of happiness as much as pleasure.

Giving him a moment to ride the wave of his orgasm, she kept rocking against him gently, her hands softly stroking up and down his chest as his hips kept stuttering up more weakly. Then, falling forward, her arms on both sides of his face, she captured his lips in a soft and breathless kiss. Recovering quicker than he thought possible after such a mind-blowing orgasm, he kissed her in earnest and brought his hand between them to rub at her clit in time with his strokes. He could feel how close she was and he wasn't going to leave her frustrated. Leo Fitz might not be the best or strongest but he was a caring lover and he always made sure his partner was perfectly satisfied, and he would do anything for Jemma anyway.

As she let out a loud whimper against his lips, he slid his free hand in her hair and brought her down closer for a much hungrier kiss, immediately slipping his tongue inside her mouth to tangle with hers. And it seemed that was just what she needed because after bringing her hips down and squeezing him tight inside once more, she broke the kiss and let out a breathless gasp. This orgasm was much quieter than her first one but he could feel the flutter of her inside walls and see the way her face tensed and then relaxed into an ecstatic smile at the same time her body went slack against him.

He couldn't help laughing lightly at the way she felt like a dead weight against him, a gorgeous naked dead weight that had managed to make him go from sad and resigned to insanely happy in barely an hour. Not because of what they'd just done -even if of course it was definitely something he'd like to happen as often as possible- but because of what it entailed for their future.

But he didn't have the time to dwell on it too much because he could feel Jemma lightly bite his neck before lifting her head up a bit to look at him, her eyes full of mirth.

"Hey! You're not allowed to laugh when you're the one making me feel so completely boneless!" She let out in a low voice, still raspy from pleasure and exhaustion. He thought he already loved everything there was to love about her but this new after sex voice had a good chance of getting on top of the list.

"Well of all those times you told me how exhausting I can be, this one is definitely my favorite ..." He answered, pecking her lips lightly as he let his hands wander all over her back to soothe her soon to be sore muscles.

"Can't disagree with that ..."

Giving a teasing roll of her hips, she pecked him on the nose before moving up and away from him, both whimpering slightly at the separation and immediately feeling better as she snuggled almost impossibly close to him, resting her head on his chest like she did so many times in totally different circumstances.

"So hum ..." Fitz started after a moment when he felt that he was starting to fall asleep. "I feel like we should I don't know ... talk or something but it all feels strangely ... natural ... like that's where our relationship was going all the time. Of course I had quite a lot of time to think about it and there are actually a million things I would like to say to you and in the meantime I feel like there's no need for it ... Am I making any sense?"

"Yeah ..." She answered, obviously quite sleepy herself. "After ten years you'd think that something so big happening should make us freak out but ..." She trailed of, her hand tracing abstract patterns on his chest like it was helping her find her words. "I think I just finally understood why I was so disappointed that you were never there when I woke up after sleeping in your bed. Because I think somehow I always knew something could have happened in those moments where my conscious mind was still a bit asleep." She finished, her voice tinged with regret.

"And that's exactly why I got off bed before you woke up every time ... I didn't want something to happen between us while you were only half conscious of what you were doing or out of gratitude or ... And I'm glad I did because I might have been pining over you for a long time but it was worth the wait because ... because I know that tomorrow I'll get to see you when you wake up next to me." He said, peppering kisses all over her face until she started giggling.

"Mmmmh ..." She let out, almost purring as he trailed his fingers over her heated skin, leaving a trail of pebbled skin. "And that won't be for for a long long time because tomorrow I plan on sleeping in ... well at least staying in bed ..." She said in a low seductive voice and he chuckled.

"Do I still get Sunday brunch though?" He teased and she burst out laughing.

"It's kind of reassuring to know that some things will never change. Even the promise of more sex won't let you forget your stomach!"

"Yeah well ... I do need to keep to eat to keep my energy up ..." He said waggling his eyebrows at her and she swatted his chest.

"Well then I'm gonna need a good night's sleep to have energy for all the sex and food to prepare and I'm gonna need my favorite human pillow to stay still now!" She answered, pulling him on his side so she could hook her leg over his hip and hug him even tighter.

"I'd feel a bit offended to be considered a human pillow but ..." He sighed at the fantastic feeling of having Jemma so intimately close to him. "... this feels amazing and I've actually never been anyone's favorite pillow so ..."

"Exactly ... Goodnight Fitz ..." She half whispered, her voice muffled where her face nestled into his neck.

"Good night Jemma ... Love you" He said tentatively against her hair.

"Love you too" She answered, already half asleep and his heart fluttered at how it felt like the most natural thing to say for her.

-0-0-0-

The next morning, Jemma woke up to the sight of Fitz peacefully sleeping on his back on the other side of the bed. Considering it was still relatively early, she decided that they could do with a little more sleep so she snuggled up to him with a contented sigh and fell back into a deep slumber.

The next time she awoke, Fitz was watching over her with such a dopey smile that she could have been tempted to make fun of him for being so hopelessly romantic, if it didn't make his lips look so tempting. So she settled for a teasing smile and a tender kiss, that soon turned into another, then another ...

An hour later when they finally got out of bed, they prepared brunch together. Together meaning that Jemma prepared the food while Fitz set the table and tasted everything like they always did, with the addition of several kisses and behaviors that Jemma deemed inappropriate in a kitchen but still ended up encouraging by leaning closer into him every occasion she got. After all, they had ten years to make up for, she could wait a bit to enforce strict kitchen rules.

When it was time to go to bed after a whole day spent at home watching TV, eating and then burning all the calories, Jemma hesitated at the threshold of Fitz's door.

"Aren't you coming in?" Fitz asked with a soft expectant look in his eyes. She had to admit it was a bit ridiculous that she hesitated now after what happened over the last twenty-four hours and the way she haven't needed a reason to sleep with him in years. It was like somehow she always knew that home wasn't where she had her stuff but simply wherever Fitz was.

"Yeah I am" She answered before taking the hand he was offering and closing the door behind her.

-0-0-0-

In the end, it was the last time she hesitated when it came to where she would sleep. Soon her room became mostly a place to store clothes or the occasional guest room when Jemma's parents or Fitz's mom came to visit around Christmas and were only very mildly surprised about the fact that they got together.

Two months later on their "anniversary", Fitz took Jemma on the most ridiculously romantic date she'd ever had. It involved nice clothes, champagne, stargazing and a lot kissing and cuddling, everywhere they went including the kitchen. Apparently two months weren't enough to catch up on ten years of physical intimacy. But it was definitely enough to decide it was time to turn Jemma's room into an office and finally make their relationship official with SHIELD.

-0-0-0-

Lots of things didn't really change, Fitz still had a passion for food and he was still an hopeless romantic. Jemma was still the most adventurous -in more ways than Fitz ever imagined- and she still loved rules more than anything -well almost anything. But after ten years of missing the obvious, they were definitely done waiting.