Chapter 2 : Scotland

Wow I didn't miss that about Scotland.

Fitz has been waiting for a taxi in front of the airport for almost half an hour and he is starting to contemplate walking to Whitecairns even though it is a full 12 miles away. With no other plane scheduled to land tonight, the airport is a bit deserted and he is wondering if any cab would even bother to come by the airport tonight.

He is disturbed in his musings by Jemma Simmons walking towards him, looking especially irritated.

"What's wrong? Did I manage to irritate you without even trying?"

She rolls her eyes at this.

"Well, I'm sure you could! But you're not the cause of my irritation for once. I had to wait almost half an hour to get my bloody luggage back and now it looks like I'm gonna have to wait some more for a taxi!"

He's about to tell her that yes, she will likely have to wait for another half hour or more for a taxi when he finally sees one approaching.

"Oh thank God. Finally!" He lets out with a big sigh and starts walking to the car.

Wait we're probably going in the same direction. And she'll probably end up waiting another half hour or more. The civil thing would be to propose to share yours. But then again why would I be civil to her? Was that civil to slam the door on my face yesterday? I don't think so! Okay it's not like I haven't voluntarily ignored her when she asked to hold the elevator door open but still ...

As he's contemplating wether or not he should offer to share his taxi with her, he can almost hear his mother's voice in his head. "You won't leave a young woman on her own in this deserted airport, that's not how I raised you Leopold". He lets out a big sigh but, as always, his inside voice mother wins the argument and he turns to Jemma.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but ... do you wanna share this taxi? I suppose we're going in the same direction anyway"

"What? Come again, I don't think I heard you correctly." She answers with a slightly amused smile.

"Well I thought we could always split the fee. And since we're going to be seing each other a lot in the next few days, I thought we could at least try to be civil to each other. But if you'd rather wait here for you own taxi, I'll be perfectly happy imagining you still waiting here in the cold while I'm enjoying my very comfortable hotel room." He says looking at her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

She rolls her eyes at this but still gives him a small smile.

"Okay, I guess I'll take the civil option."

Fitz' education takes over again and he surprises her by taking both their luggage to put them in the boot of the car while she gets in and gives directions to their drivers. They ride in silence for a few minutes before she turns to him and lightly touches his shoulders to get his attention.

"Thank you for that, Fitz"

He smiles when he notices that she switched back to calling him Fitz. She must be really grateful for his gesture.

"Well I've been known to be quite chivalrous, Jemma"

The 12 miles ride to Whitecairns is uneventful. They remain in silence most of the time but at least they're not arguing, which is a pretty big improvement in their relationship. They even exchange an amused smile when their driver screams a pretty impressive list of typically scottish insults at another driver who passes them at a very high speed. When they get close to Whitecairns, they start giving more precise directions to their driver and discover, without even being surprised about it anymore, that they will both be staying at The Glendale Hotel.

"At this point, I wouldn't even be surprised if they give us the same room." He says with a small laugh.

"Well my mom keeps wanting to set me up with someone every time I come home and don't bring a boyfriend. So I wouldn't even be surprised if she arranged something like that. Even if it's with you."

"Hey, I'll have you know I make a great boyfriend, mothers always love me. I'd make yours really happy."

"Fitz, she's a married woman and I really don't want you to make my mother happy." She says with a mocking tone.

"So funny Simmons." He retorts sarcastically but still slightly smiles at this. If he's being honest it's actually kind of nice and relaxing to keep their usual teasings on a lighter note for once. He doesn't really remember who started the war between them but he always regretted that it went this way. When he first met her, she had seemed nice and almost as smart as he is. He doesn't often (if ever) meet people of his age that are like that and it's a bloody shame that the one he knows has to be his mortal enemy.

When they finally arrive at the hotel, it's late and they're both impatient to get to their room and have what will probably be the only good night's sleep they'll get this week-end.

The Glendale hotel is a simple but nice and cosy place. It's only three stories high and has a family owned bed and breakfast feel to it. At this hour of night, the place is well lit but it's not too aggressive since it's made of several little light sources instead of a big one. The reception desk is on the left and on the right, there's a set of big armchairs and couches. With the dark reddish tones of the walls and the shelves full of books and magazines, it feels really homy.

Just before they get to the reception, Fitz's phone rings and he lets out a sigh when he sees the caller ID that appears on screen.

"It's my mom. I forgot to tell her I landed safely. I should get that or she'll send a rescue team!"

"Aww, that's so cute, you have to check in with your mommy when you take the plane." She says cooing.

"Shut up Simmons!"

She gives him a big teasing grin before starting to walk towards the reception.

"Well, I'm going to get my room. Goodnight mama's boy and thanks again for the ride!"

"Yeah yeah goodnight Simmons"

He rolls her eyes at her and then hurries to pick up the call before it's too late.

After assuring his mother that he safely arrived at his hotel and that his flights were uneventful (there's no way, he's telling her about Jemma or he would have to spend hours telling her that their little war doesn't mean that they actually like each other, he's not ten years old for god's sake!), he finally hangs up and walks towards the clerk at the reception desk to get his room key and finally meet the bed he's been dreaming of for hours.

"Hi. I have a reservation for three nights under the name Leopold Fitz."

The clerk nods at him with a smile and starts searching for Fitz's booking on the small computer screen on his desk. After a few minutes though, Fitz is about to ask if there's a problem when the clerk looks at him with an embarrassed smile.

"I'm sorry mister Fitz, there's no trace of your booking anywhere."

"What?! That's ridiculous, I booked this room weeks ago, I even received the email confirmation ... You know what, never mind just give me any other room. I don't care about the price, I just want to take a shower and lie down."

"I really am very sorry mister Fitz but we're fully booked tonight. Lots of weddings in town this week-end."

"Of course!"

Fuuuuuck!