I'm talking a small break from my other story to write this one. I've always loved seasonal FitzSimmons stories so I wanted to try one! So here's the first part (it was supposed to be up sooner but I didn't have time to proofread it), the next should be up sometime during the holidays and the conclusion will come just after to match the timeline of the story. Hope you'll enjoy it and as always reviews are most welcome :)
And of course the characters are not mine and belong to Marvel!
Merry Christmas everyone!
"Fitz you don't need to carry my suitcase, you already have yours to carry!" Jemma said as they were making their way towards the airport entrance.
"That's alright. I just have to roll it anyway so let me be a gentleman for once!" He said with a grin. "Still I don't see how you could need so many things for two weeks!" He added with a teasing tone.
"Christmas gifts Fitz!" She said, rolling her eyes at him. "And you're being gentlemanly enough, coming with me to the airport when your plane doesn't take off for another five hours!" She said, her expression softening as he finally managed to make her stop trying to get her suitcase back.
"That's alright, I would have come here in a few hours anyway and I'm better here with you than at home on my own." He said and couldn't keep a small smile off his face even as rolled his eyes when she let out a big "awwwww". "We'll also get to maintain at least some of our Christmas traditions" He added with a sigh.
"Yeah ..." She said, getting a little melancholic even though she knew it wasn't really so terrible.
Since they joined SHIELD academy and became almost immediately best friends three years ago, they had barely spent a day apart except during the Christmas holidays. Each year, Jemma and Fitz had been going home respectively to Sheffield and Glasgow for two weeks. And this year was no different except that Fitz waited too long to take his plane ticket, so instead of being on the same plane and both taking their connexion in London like they used to, he had a connexion in Frankfurt. They were going to be apart for two weeks so really six hours didn't make such a big difference but still they had their little habits and traditions before and during the flight. And it was just much more fun when they were together. Also, she had to recognize that she missed him more and more every time they were separated but at least, he obviously felt the same or he wouldn't have made the effort of being ready a whole three hours before he had to.
"Also ..." He started with a grin, interrupting her in her musings. "... this year is your turn to pay for the drinks" He finished and she rolled her eyes while bumping his shoulder with hers.
As usual at this time of year, the airport was bursting with people and the noise that always accompanies it. The bad weather that had been worsening since the beginning of the afternoon made things worse than usual since lots of flights were starting to get delayed. People were ranting, children were screaming and with all the people standing in front of the screens for informations on their flight, it was really hard to move around the halls. Even Jemma, who was always so cheery during this period, was starting to lose patience. The fact that she might end up sitting next to someone who would be snoring, smelly or worse, flirty, instead of Fitz didn't help either. People always assumed they were a couple and most of the time, she corrected them, but on the plane or the train, he made the perfect shield between her and anyone potentially annoying.
By some sort of miracle, both their flights were still announced on time so once they managed to pass the monstrous crowd at the entrance of the airport, they proceeded to their check-in counter. By chance, their departure gates were close to each other so they'd be able to wait for their flight together as planned. But unfortunately, that's where their luck stopped. They had barely made it through security and into the departures lounge that the information screen was updated and they saw that Jemma's flight was delayed because of the snow.
"At least, we get to spend a bit more time together" Fitz said, gently squeezing her shoulder when she let out a big sigh. It was obviously a sympathetic gesture from him but she could swear she saw a little pleased smile on his face as he did that.
-0-0-0-
"Okay you know the rules, I pay for the drinks, you start talking" Jemma said as they both sat down in one of the empty booths.
"Yeah yeah, just let me get that drink first and think for a minute, it's been an eventful year!" Fitz answered with a grin.
"Fine I'll go get the beers and you take out that list I know you already prepared!" Jemma said, raising an eyebrow. He looked at her innocently then after a moment he took out his phone to look for said list in his notes. She grinned at him triumphantly and walked to the bar to get their usual drinks.
The bar wasn't really special. It was a rather classic airport pub that served beer and other kind of drinks as well as overpriced airport food but they went there the first time they've gone home together. The beer was good and it was always a little less noisy than the rest of the departures lounge. The first time they went there, they've only known each other for a few months and even though they were already becoming very close friends, they didn't know much about each other's life outside at the academy at the time. So Jemma had offered him a drink in exchange of him giving her more details about his life. At the time, Fitz had been grateful that it was her who asked first. He never really had many real friends before Jemma, being always younger than everyone and a bit shy, and he didn't always know what was appropriate to ask about someone.
The following year, there really wasn't anything they didn't know about each other so he offered her a drink in exchange for her making a list of all the positive and negative things that happened in her life since the last time. After that it became some sort of tradition that they both took very seriously. As the years advanced at the academy, their lives were becoming more and more intense in every aspect so of course, he had prepared a list.
When she went back with the beers, they both took it, cheered and down a few gulps before putting it back down.
"Come one, talk now!" Jemma said with an expectant smile that he couldn't help but reciprocate.
"Fine, bad things first, I'll keep the best for last!" He started and she nodded her agreement. "First, I didn't get to see my mom very much this year and I'm afraid it will only get worse when we graduate from the academy." He said and she tilted her head to the side sympathetically.
"We'll do our best to take a week during spring break to go home, I promise" She said and even though he knew there were few chances of that happening, the sincerity in her small smile made him feel a little hopeful and he gave her a small smile back.
"I completely failed my only new year's resolution of meeting new people. Really I think you ruined other people for me, they're all soooo boring compared to you!" He said sighing and it's only when she blushed furiously that he realized he never paid her such a big compliment out loud. Of course, they'd been best friends for years, they barely left each other's side and he had no social interaction with anyone else except for the few people in engineering class he sometimes went out with for a drink after a long day of work. By now, she should have known how much he valued her but knowing something and actually having a vocal confirmation was a bit different.
After the initial surprise, she gave him a shy but warm smile before talking. "Well you did make friends with these two guys in engineering class ..." She started.
"They're colleagues, not friends but okay I guess ..." He answered.
"... and there was Emily of course" She said, grinning slightly. She knew it was old enough so it was okay to smile about it now.
"Yeah, that was next on my list!" He said, sighing.
"Oh come on, at least you tried" She said, gently squeezing his hand.
"Yeah it was just after new year, I was unnaturally hopeful, it lasted two weeks and it was a disaster ... and you know it" He said, raising his eyebrow. "Really I don't know why I bother ... I guess it's just not for me" He said as he proceeded to gulp down almost half of his beer.
"Don't say that, any woman would be lucky to have you" She said and there was a sincerity in her voice and soft look that made him blush a little so he dismissed it with a joke.
"Well thank you mom!" He said with a smirk and she swat his arm.
"I mean it Fitz ..."
"I know, I know" He said and they locked eyes for a moment before she spoke again.
"Okay, on to the positive things now!"
"Well work obviously!" He said with a big smile.
"You're going to have to be more precise than that Fitz" She answered with a smirk.
"Well, there's my mouse hole that's been praised by Nick Fury in person!" He said with a genuine innocent smile and she smiled back. His enthusiasm was always so contagious when he talked about work. He was like a child talking about his new favorite toy, except he was a genius in his field and most people didn't understand half of what he was saying. That was one more thing they had in common.
"And I heard they're already using it on the field!" She added.
"Yep! And also he's already very interested in our night-night gun! He said he wants us to make it a priority" Fitz added and she gently rolled her eyes.
"You know they will never keep that name right?" She said with a smirk and raised an eyebrow.
"We'll see ... but still two projects making it to production and we're not even out of the academy yet!" He added, his Scottish accent getting a little stronger as he grew more excited.
"Yeah it's quite amazing ... to us!" She said raising her glass.
"To us!" He answered before raising his own glass and they both gulped down the remainder of their pint. "Which leads me to the next positive thing which is you of course!" He added, his smile softening and she found that she had trouble holding his gaze. His beautiful blue eyes were made a little darker by the soft lightning of the room but they also had a glint to them. She didn't know if it was caused by the alcohol or the topic of their conversation but it troubled her for a moment.
"Yeah we've always worked so well together ..." She started.
"Yeah of course, we're twice as smart together but it's not just that ... I've never had such a close friend and I'm really thankful for that" He said and again she started blushing. He didn't know what was getting to him today. Why was he so sentimental? It's wasn't the beer, a pint was nothing for him. Maybe he just realized how important she was for him and finally felt like it was time to say it instead of it being implicit between them. It had been a long stressful year and he knew she was one of the main reasons he managed to keep his sanity.
"Oh Fitz ..." She said with a soft smile as she grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He didn't need her to say more anyway. He knew she felt the same.
"Okay, your turn now!" He said with a grin as he was starting to feel like the moment was stretching a bit too much.
"Yeah, I'll get us another beer first!" She said as she suddenly let go of his hand and got up to go to the bar.
When she got back a few minutes later, he was waiting for her with his arms crossed and an a smile on his face.
"Okay, let's start with the negative things then. Well like you, I regret not being able to see my family more this past year but I guess it was to be expected as we get closer to graduation." She said and he nodded in agreement. "There's also the fact that I'm starting to lose contact with the few friends I have back home ..." She added and he tilted his head in sympathy.
"Maybe you should try reaching out to them while you're at home. I'm sure they'd be happy to hear about you!" He said in a soft tone and she nodded.
"You're right, I'll do that ... so anyway the most negative thing has to be the complete and utter disappointment and loss of precious time that was Milton" She said, rolling her eyes.
"Ugh ... Milton" He answered with a disgusted face and even though the memory still stung a bit, she couldn't help smiling at his childish reaction.
"Yeah, you never really liked him. Did you?" She said.
"He was just so boring and annoying ... always thought you deserved better than his stupid cabbage head!" He added, getting even more childish. Actually she didn't recall him liking any of her boyfriends.
"Fitz!" She cried out in mock offense. "... but I guess you weren't wrong ..." She added with a sigh. "... actually, you've always been quite right about all my boyfriends, maybe I should let you choose for me" She said with a smirk.
"Yeahhhh ... because that wouldn't be weird at all!" He answered and they both chuckled.
"But really, I don't why I bother having relationships with anyone but you ..." She said before realizing how it might have sounded like in this context. "... not that we're in a relationship, I mean you're my best friend and ..." She started but he cut her off.
"I know what you mean Jemma, I think I would have noticed anyway ..." He said smirking cheekily and she blushed a bit. Why was he having such an effect on her tonight?
"Yeah of course ..." She said, smiling a little awkwardly. "So that brings me to the positive things" She said before getting a few gulps of her beer and saying the rest of her list. "Basically it's the same as yours. I still love everything I'm doing at the academy and I'm so glad we're getting so much recognition." She said with a big smile he was quick to reciprocate. "And I'm especially glad about all the projects we have together!" She added. "I mean, the other day I talked with a few freshmen and they heard about us before entering the academy but they actually thought we were a single person called Fitzsimmons! How crazy is that?" She cried out enthusiastically and they both laughed out loud. Since they were paired up during their first year, they've done so well that all their professors gradually started to pair them up every time it was possible. By the end of the year, most people were calling them Fitzsimmons and even though, for a time they tried to correct people to remind them that they were tow separate people, they actually liked it. Nothing bad with being associated with the most brilliant mind both of them had ever met.
"So I guess the best thing of this past year has to be you Fitz" She said after they were done laughing and it was his time to blush.
"Oh no ... there has to be something else, you cannot mean ..." He started but she cut her off.
"No really Fitz. What you said about me earlier was adorable and I feel just the same. it's not only about work, you're always there for me. I'll never say it enough but it's so nice to finally have someone who can follow me when I talk. But you also comforted me when I broke up with Milton and you motivate me when I lose courage" She said and his cheeks blushed even redder. He wasn't used to getting so many compliments.
"Well you have to deal with my grumpiness all the time, that's the least I can do for you ..." He said, smirking a bit, finally able to stop blushing.
"Oh come on I know the grumpiness is a façade, deep down you have the biggest heart of everyone I know ..." She said and he grinned mischievously.
"Well I hope it's still a normal size cause you know I'm not really big or tall, it wouldn't be healthy to have too big a heart and ..." He started and she cut her off.
"Fiiiitz ..." She said, rolling her eyes.
"Fine ... I guess I can be nice ... to people who deserve it!" He answered with a small grin and she smiled back softly. She knew she was probably one of the very few people who've seen how incredibly sweet he actually was and that made her feel special somehow.
-0-0-0-
Once they were finished with the first of their airport Christmas traditions, they realized that they just had two pints of beer and that it may be a good idea to get something to eat. So as they shared a plate of chips and onion rings, they started talking again. It went from their plans for the next two weeks -for Fitz it would mostly be stuffing his face with his mom's cooking while Jemma planned on using this time to start working out again- to the projects they were working on together to the much anticipated Doctor Who Christmas special they were planning to watch together via Skype. Whatever the situation, they never ran out of things to talk about. Which was strange to a lot of people since they spent most of their waking hours together, but not to them. If they believed in that sort of things, they would say they were soulmates. Once when Fitz was a bit drunk, which was no small feat since he could really hold his liquor, he told her that his theory was that their molecules were both part of the same bigger organism at some point in the past and that's why their minds were so alike. At the time Jemma loved it and it's only later that she realized how incredibly romantic it was. Fitz didn't betray his Scottish origins, he really did have the soul of a poet sometimes. Though it was mostly when he was drunk and didn't remember it afterwards.
-0-0-0-
After almost two hours of sitting, drinking, eating and talking, they both felt like walking a bit. So as was tradition, Jemma paid the tab and they went out of the bar to walk towards the information screen. Jemma's plane was still delayed.
"If it goes on like that, you'll end up taking off before me!" She said, sighing.
"Well at least, it's just delayed, not cancelled so you'll probably leave ... at some point ... probably before Christmas" He said grinning and she swat his arm.
"Hey it's not nice to make fun of me!" She said in a slightly annoyed tone.
"I'm not making fun of you Jemma" He said and she raised an incredulous eyebrow at him. "Really I'm not ..." He started but she kept looking at him with the same look. "... fine maybe a bit but mostly I'm kind of glad that we get to spend more time together before going our separate ways." He said and she immediately softened.
"Oh Fitz ..." She said as she laced her arm through his. "Come on, let's go watch the snow" She added and they started walking towards the window. "It's keeping us grounded but at least it's pretty!"
They remained in front of the window for several minutes looking outside. Even though people were starting to leave, the inside of the airport was still a little chaotic, which made the outside look even more peaceful and beautiful. Fitz was used to having snow during most of the winter back in Scotland but in Sheffield it was much more rare and it seemed that Jemma would never tire of it. With the outside lights reflecting on her face and the genuine happy smile on her face, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. He found her pretty the first time they met back when they were sixteen but she only grew more and more beautiful and it had actually started to confuse him a few months ago but he always dismissed that fact to the back of his brain.
After a time, he felt her shiver so he opened his arm for her and she instinctively came closer, putting her arm around his waist as his went around her shoulder to take advantage of each other's body warmth. As the southerner she was, she wasn't used to the cold that came with the snow either but in this specific case, he really didn't mind.
A few minutes later, an elderly couple came to watch the snow just like them. When Jemma turned her head towards them, the woman gave her a big smile which Jemma returned immediately.
"You two make such a lovely couple." She said. "Bert and I have been watching the snow just like you're doing for 60 years now" She added and just as Fitz was about to tell her that they weren't a couple, that they were just friends, Jemma answered her.
"Oh thank you" She said with a tender smile and Fitz's eyes went a little wide. "And congratulations on your sixty years of marriage" She added which made the older woman laugh a little.
"Oh but we haven't been married that long. Bert and I had been friends for almost ten years before he finally made a move and asked me out!" She said and both her and Bert chuckled.
"Oh I see ..." Jemma said, blushing slightly as she was forced to recognize how similar to their situation it felt. Except for the fact that they were just friends and she didn't expect Fitz to make a move on her anytime soon.
When the elderly couple walked away to sit down after a few minutes, Fitz turned to Jemma with a raised eyebrow.
"It happens so often that I realized it was easier and faster to just say thank you rather than trying to explain that we're just friends, at least to people that we're never going to see again anyway!" She said with a tentative smile.
"Yeah, makes sense I guess" He said after thinking about it for a few seconds but then a mischievous smile made its way on her face. "... wouldn't happen so often if you could keep your hands off me though"
"Hey!" She said, trying to disentangle herself from him but he didn't let her.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I know you're always cold!" He said with a softer smile and they still stayed like that until she stifled a big yawn.
"Tired?" He asked.
"Yeah ... I guess those last crazy weeks of work are finally catching up on me." She answered as she stifled another yawn.
"Come on, let's find a seat and I'll get you a tea or something" He said disentangling himself from her and grabbing her arm to lead her towards two empty seats not far from them.
"Thank you Fitz, you're adorable" She said with a soft smile as she sat on one of the seats and put her bag on the other to keep Fitz's one. "A tea would be great" She added.
"Okay, I won't be long" He said and walked towards the only place where he knew they were selling decent tea and coffee this side of the airport.
-0-0-0-
When he came back with her tea and his coffee, Jemma had put out her phone but she had an annoyed look on her face.
"What's wrong?" He said as he got closer and extended his hand to give her her cup.
"Oh hi ..." She said visibly startled. "Thank you" She added with a small smile as she took the cup from him. "it's nothing, it's just this guy who waited barely a second after you left to come and talk to me" She finished, rolling her eyes as he put her bag on the floor to sit next to her.
"Oh ... was he agressive or something?" He said, his brows furrowing in concern.
"No no no don't worry. It's just I told him I didn't want to talk, that my friend would be back soon, but he still kept insisting. How hard is it for a guy to take the hint and understand that I'm not interested?" She said her voice, getting a little higher as she grew more annoyed and Fitz felt a bit sheepish even though he obviously knew it wasn't directed at him.
"I don't know I guess ..." He started but she cut him off.
"Oh Fitz, it was just a rhetorical question. I know what a gentleman you are!" She said with a fond smile. "But really that's why I like to have you with me on the plane. I'd rather have a sweet old lady telling us we're a cute couple than a weirdo hitting on me when we're stuck in a plane 36000 feet above the ground" She added with a smirk.
"But what happened to I'm-an-independant-woman-who-can-defend-herself-perfectly-well-on-her-own?" He said with a very bad imitation of her voice and accent.
"I can defend myself perfectly well on my own, I think I've proven that in self defense class, right?" She said with a smirk and he looked down sheepishly. "But it's just so annoying and tiring to have to spend ten minutes explaining you're not interested every time some weird guy comes to talk to you ... So it's much simpler to use you as a shield really!" She added, nudging him gently in the shoulder.
"Oh so that's all I am to you? A shield?" He answered in mock-offense.
"Of course no ... you're also very comfortable to fall asleep on. Especially your shoulder, it's just the perfect height, a little higher than mine but not too high" She said, her smile growing and he couldn't help smiling back.
"Don't forget that I can also bring you tea and fix your toaster" He added and she chuckled. She almost added that he was the perfect boyfriend but thought better of it. She already let out too many involuntary innuendos that night, and coupled with all the looks, she didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable, especially since she, herself, was a bit confused about it.
-0-0-0-
Once she finished her tea, she actually proved her point when she let her head fall on his shoulder. She said she only wanted to rest a bit but he knew she'd fall asleep soon enough. It didn't happen to her often but when she was really exhausted, she could fall asleep pretty much anywhere. He put out his phone to check his emails and look at the weather to see if it was supposed to get better anytime soon and when he looked at her again a few minutes later, he knew she was asleep from the slower way her chest was rising and falling. Before she was too deeply asleep though, he sat back in his chair and made her head rest on his lap, her legs going up in a foetal position almost automatically. As comfortable as his shoulder was, she would still have a stiff neck if she stayed asleep like that for too long. The movement didn't even make her open her eyes and it looked like her breath had slowed down a little more. He was always amazed at how fast she could fall asleep sometimes.
After a few minutes, she shivered in her sleep so he reached for his coat and put it on her and he could swear he saw a small smile make its way on her face as he did so. She truly was pretty when she slept. Not that she wasn't always, he thought to himself. He did look at her a few times when she fell asleep during their late night working sessions. She always looked so peaceful with the ghost of a smile on her face that he always felt guilty being the one to wake her up.
And this time would make no exception because fifteen minutes after she fell asleep, her plane was finally announced. Apparently the snow had started to calm down and the airport was slowly going back to life. Her plane was set to take off in forty-five minutes which meant they would probably start embarking in another fifteen minutes. So after thinking about it for a moment, he decided to wake her up now to leave her time to wake up gently.
"Jemma?" He said in a soft voice as he got his face a bit closer to hers and rubbed her shoulder.
"Fitz?" She answered, her voice all sleepy and visibly confused, after a moment.
"Jemma, your plane's taking off in forty five minutes, I thought you'd like to have time to wake up before embarking" He said when she turned to look at him, her eyes still heavy from sleep.
"Oh that's good-that's- thank you Fitz-that's sweet of you ..." She said with a sleepy smile and he couldn't help smiling back. Her hair had gone askew and she still had to fight not to close her eyes again and Fitz found it unbearably adorable.
After a minute or so, she managed to sit back on her chair and stretched her arms and legs like a cat. As she started to reach for her bag, Fitz knew what she was looking for and handled her a bottle of water and she took it gratefully.
"Thank you" She said before drinking a few gulps from it. "I'm sorry Fitz, you came to spend some time with me and I fall asleep on your lap like a big baby" She said pouting and he chuckled.
"It's alright, you needed it and you didn't sleep that long anyway" He answered with a gentle smile.
Just as Jemma was about to answer something, a new song came in on the radio and they both smiled wildly. It was a classic Christmas song that Jemma loved and every year, when they heard it at the airport, she couldn't help dancing to it. Which always made Fitz laugh really hard. She clearly wasn't a natural born dancer but her enthusiasm made up for it. For a moment, Fitz hesitated but then he finally stood up and extended his hand to her.
"Come on. Up with you" He said and she looked at him with a surprised expression.
"What? Do you want to ..." She started.
"Yeah why not? Might as well give it a try!" He said, smirking.
"But you never want to dance and I'm so exhausted!" She said but still took his hand to stand up.
"I know but we won't get to honor our in-flight traditions so I thought i could follow you on this one. And it's a slow song anyway, no need to go all crazy like you usually do." He said with a wide grin.
"Alright, if you insist ..." She said and for a moment, they looked at each other, not knowing how they should to that. But then he gently pulled her towards him and hesitantly put his hand on her waist. However light the contact was, it still sent a small delicious shiver up her spine. So she put her own hands around his neck and they started swaying to the music. For a time she felt a little self conscious, dancing in the middle of an airport's lounge but she soon realized that except for a few amused or curious looks, most people didn't care about them. So she relaxed into his arms and just enjoyed the music and the proximity of her best friend. He obviously relaxed as well because the touch of his hands on her waist became firmer and they went a little further towards the middle of her back, bringing her closer in the process.
The whole time, they didn't speak, they just looked at each other and smiled, which made her heart flutter a bit. Even when he was sixteen and achingly shy, he already had this intense look in his eyes that had the ability to make her breath hitch for a moment. It was hard to look away when he looked at her like that and he didn't even seem to notice. Coupled with the feeling of his warm hands permeating through her clothes and the delicious smell of the Cologne she helped him chose, she felt even more confused than she had earlier. Deliciously confused though ... by her best friend.
And of course, there was also the fact that he was the one who asked her to dance, on a slow song nonetheless, when she knew he hated it. So what did it mean?
Just as the song was ending and she was starting to wonder if they should let go of each other, even though she didn't really want it, nice as it felt being in his arms, a voice spoke on the mike over the music saying Jemma's plane was about to embark. So they separated, looking at each other a bit awkwardly, like some kind of charm had been broken.
"I should go ..." She said. "Don't want to miss my flight, after waiting all this time!" She added with a small grin.
"Yeah I'll walk you there! My plane should embark in half an hour, I won't have to wait on my own for too long after all" He said, smiling back as they grabbed their bag and started to make their way towards Jemma's door.
When they made it there, they were only embarking families and elderly people so they had to wait a little bit more. As they stood there and probably for the first time since they met, they found themselves not knowing what to say to each other. He didn't think it would feel quite so ... strange to dance with her. They'd been this close a few times, when she cried in his arms after a bad break up or when one they went back from the bar a bit inabriated and both fell asleep in a mess of tangled limbs on his bed. When they woke up they were a bit confused and awkward, but then they remembered and just laughed about it. But now, they had just danced a few minutes but it felt ... different. He had to admit that her soft hands on his neck had felt nice and for some reason, he hadn't been able to take his eyes off her.
Well, it probably just had been a long day, even a long week actually, he thought. Two weeks apart would put things back normal. At least there was a good side to their momentary separation. He was interrupted in his musings by Jemma telling her she was allowed to embark now.
"Okay, I should go now" She said, putting her bag back on her shoulder.
"Yeah! I'll cross my fingers for you to be seated next to a woman ... or a gay man ... or a child ... make it a mute child!" He said, grinning slightly.
"Thank you, that's really sweet of you" She said chuckling. "Aww, I'm really going to miss you ..." She added sighing. "You're the most important person in my life and we never get to see each other at Christmas" She finished with a frown.
"Yeah it is really too bad ..."
"Maybe next year, you could come spend a few days home just after Christmas. You could even bring your mom if you liked, my parents wouldn't mind ..." She said with a tentative smile.
"That's a great idea, I think I'd love that ..." He said and they smiled softly at each other.
"Okay I really have to go now, I'll see you in two weeks!" She said as she engulfed him in a big hug like she did every year to say goodbye.
"I'll see you in two weeks, happy Christmas Jemma" he said in a soft voice, his mouth being just next to her hear.
But as she started untangling her hands from behind his neck, she didn't let go completely and kept one of her hands on his shoulder. When their eyes met, she had an undefinable smile on her face and after what looked like a second's hesitation, she used the hand on his shoulder as leverage, pressed up on the balls of her feet and pressed her lips to his. For a second, an alarm sounded in his head telling him that this wasn't normal and the next, he was kissing her back. It remained soft and chaste but their lips still moved against each other for a moment. After what could have been a few seconds or a whole day, she broke it off and stepped back and it's only then that he realized that his hands were on her waist the whole time. She looked at him with that same unusual smile and said: "Happy Christmas Fitz" then she put her bag on her shoulder for good before giving him one last look and walking away towards the counter.
It took a whole ten seconds for Fitz's jaw to close and his brain to work again. By the time it did, Jemma was already giving her ticket and entering the corridor leading to the entrance of the plane.
"WHAT. THE. HELL JUST HAPPENED?!" Fitz cried in his mind.
-0-0-0-
As Jemma was walking towards the entrance of the plane, she thought she was doing a really good job looking normal but inside it was just as chaotic as the airport had been a few hours ago. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and a voice, her voice really, was screaming in her mind: "JEMMA, WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?"