It was lucky that Fitz was good at multi-tasking. He could write his name, smile for photos and make engaging small-talk all while completely freaking out about whatever it was that his entire crew had gathered around Jemma to say. He couldn't even see her now, obscured as she was by Hunter and the hulking specialists. But he could see Skye. And she was looking way too excited for this to be good.

To his great relief, at least the line was decidedly dwindling. He reckoned he could count less than twenty stragglers milling about at the foot of the platform. The introvert within him sighed in anticipation of liberation.

Introverts were often egregiously misrepresented. Everyone expected them to be Nigel-No-Friends who only knew how to relate to others via the safe mediation of the internet. Fitz knew better. He was an internal processor who loved his down-time and liked to spend portions of the day in silence and sometimes even solitude. But after a morning like the one he'd just had – extremely superficial conversations with hundreds and hundreds of people – there was one bubbling hope spurring him through it.

Usually he looked forward to lunch with the crew, connecting with his surrogate family and recharging in their deep connections and profound conversations. Today he was hanging out for the one-to-one intensity of meaningful time alone with this woman that he had dreamed about getting to know for years.

He vaguely wondered how hard it would be to blow everyone else off to take her out. Team lunch after these big mornings had become kind of sacrosanct. But they were only in Cambridge for this one day. Surely everyone else would understand?

Finally he found himself posing for his last selfie and shaking his last lot of hands. He glanced over to his crew to find them all completely ignoring him, locked as they were in conversation with Jemma. He fretted nervously. He could only hope they were sticking to his good points.

ooo

If Jemma hadn't arrived at the mall already in love with Fitz, the conversation she'd just had with his adoring crew would have fixed it. Movement on the platform caught her eye and suddenly he was wandering over to join them, his blue eyes finding hers with a keen anticipation.

"Hey," he addressed the crew as they stood to slap him on the back with wider-than-usual congratulatory grins. "I know we normally have lunch together after these things but do you think it would be alright if I maybe ate with Jemma today?"

Jemma tried to stifle a laugh as every member of the crew fired at him their hastily made-up prior engagements that would have prevented them from going to lunch with him anyway.

"Oh," Fitz responded, surprised. "Are you taking the bus back to New York now then, May?"

"Err," she replied hesitantly, her eyes darting to Coulson for the specifics of the plan.

"Yeah," Phil nodded decisively. "Sorry about that, pal." He fished in his pocket for his car keys. "Here, take Lola. You can just bring her back to me at the studio in the morning."

The collective gasp was nearly strong enough to suck Jemma off her feet.

"Who's Lola?" she enquired.

Phil shrugged. "Lola's my car. You'll like her."

"Are you sure about this, Phil?" Fitz asked, glancing round the semi-circle of dropped jaws.

"Of course." The older man clapped him firmly, really firmly, on the shoulder. "You'll take care of her though, right?"

Fitz weighed the keys in his hand. "Like she was my own."

"Which she isn't," Phil reminded him and Jemma thought his smile might have looked a bit fixed. "But you know that, of course."

"Wheels up in ten," May announced tersely before turning to Jemma with a warm smile. "It was really nice to meet you, Jemma. I hope we'll be seeing more of you."

Jemma beamed back. "Oh, so lovely to meet you too, May. Yes, I hope we will see each other again."

She turned to Fitz. "Wheels up?"

Fitz laughed. "May's an aviation nerd, always hanging around the airstrip in her time off."

"Ahh," Jemma nodded. "So the bus isn't actually a plane?"

Fitz gave her an odd look. "Err, no. The bus is just, um, you know, a bus."

There was a flurry of activity as the crew grabbed their gear, farewelled Fitz and Jemma and headed for the exit. Jemma couldn't help but notice the pointed glances and back slaps her new friends bestowed on Fitz as they said their goodbyes.

Skye even rushed back and threw her arms around Jemma. "It really was so nice to meet you," she said, for maybe the fourth time. "Have fun with Fitz today."

Jemma glanced shyly over at the man she'd daydreamed about for the last five years.

"She will," Fitz laughed and Skye grabbed him into a fierce bear hug also.

"Call me tonight," she ordered him. "Or…" A devilish grin crept over her face. "In the morning if that's more convenient." She ran for the exit laughing as if she half-expected Fitz to give chase.

Alone at last, Jemma turned to find Fitz flushed red as a beet, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck.

"So, you met my friends then," he observed dryly. He hoisted his backpack onto his shoulder and, taking a deep breath, offered her his arm.

Jemma slid her hand through his proffered elbow and felt the thrill of their first physical contact. He wore a pale blue shirt with the cuffs rolled back over deep blue fitted jeans and red Converse All-stars. She squashed down a little disappointment that he wasn't wearing one of his signature cardigans, but she supposed it was quite a warm day. Perhaps he had one in his backpack that she might get to see him wear later.

"Hungry?" Fitz enquired.

"Starving," she replied, just realising in that moment how long it had been since she'd left the bare cupboards of her apartment earlier that morning. "I don't suppose you're a fan of burgers?"

He grinned. "Want to try to find burgers as big as our heads?"

She nodded happily. "Is there any other kind?"

"You realise we have to take Lola though, right?" Fitz said. "You probably gathered from the crew's reaction that Phil doesn't lend her out easily. You'll see why in a minute."

"Shall we get drive-through and eat by the river?" Jemma suggested.

"Sounds perfect," Fitz grinned, leading her out to where he'd seen Phil park his beloved car earlier that morning.

ooo

Once Jemma got over her shock and awe at Lola, Fitz opened the door for her, let her settle in and then literally pinched his own arm hard as he walked around the back of the car to the driver door.

Nope, definitely not dreaming.

A cool breeze had hit them as they walked out of the controlled-climate of the mall and glancing over at Jemma's pretty but flimsy looking blouse, Fitz dug his navy cardigan out of his backpack and offered it to her for the drive.

"It might get pretty chilly with the top down," he said by way of explanation.

Jemma accepted the cardigan with what seemed to Fitz a disproportionate level of appreciation. "Thank you," she gushed as she slipped her arms into the sleeves and wrapped it snugly around her. "This is so thoughtful of you."

Fitz grinned broadly, feeling a little glow at the sight of her wrapped in his cardi. Thoughtfulness was a positive attribute for a date, right? Jemma seemed to think so.

"So," she began as Fitz carefully pulled out of the parking lot. "How did this morning go? I thought you'd be completely exhausted after that."

He gave a low chuckle. "I can't say I'm not happy it's over," he replied. "But it really is fun meeting the rabid fans like that. They're so passionate about the show!"

"Careful," she warned him playfully. "There's a rabid fan sitting right next to you."

Fitz shook his head. "It blows my mind that someone like you would watch our show," he said quietly.

"Why?" Jemma asked incredulously. "You're a genuinely lovely person and an incredibly gifted scientist. And you have such a knack for inviting your guests to open up about their ideas and processes. It's great entertainment and I personally find it utterly inspiring."

"Really?" Fitz asked softly, glancing over at her, thrilled at the thought that he could be part of something that inspired someone like her.

"Really! I told you I'd thought of thanking you in my thesis, didn't I?" She met his eyes with as much sincerity as she could muster. "Do you really think I would have queued for hours in a shopping mall to meet you if I didn't think you were something pretty special?"

Fitz blushed noticeably. "I guess not. But I still can't believe you were willing to stick around for that long just to wait for me."

Jemma laughed. "Oh, your crew were highly entertaining." She glanced over at him to see his eyes narrow suspiciously.

"Are you going to tell me what they said that was so entertaining?"

"Nope," she replied cheerily. "But I don't mind saying that deciding to hang around and wait for you was an absolute no-brainer." She took a deep breath. "I've had a bit of a crush on you for a while now," she admitted. Understatement of the year.

Fitz's grin couldn't have gotten any wider. "Hang on," he laughed. "You're not the one who sends me the, ahem… the ladies, umm, underthings, are you?"

Jemma could feel her face turn a shade that must have nicely matched Lola's paintjob. She hoped he would attribute her high colour to shock at the very thought that anyone would do such an inappropriate thing. Inwardly she sighed with relief that she chose to wear her novelty science-themed underwear today rather than post them to him with a provocative photo as Callie had been insisting she should.

"Not I," she replied laughing. Should I admit to having thought about it? Probably not just yet.