The next week was spent in the hospital with people coming into his room every five minutes even during the night. Nurses came to poke him with needles so often that he wondered how he still even had enough blood for them to drain and what they could possibly need to test him for. Doctors came almost as often to see that his scars were healing properly or make sure that he really didn't sustain any serious head injury or after effects from his bad reaction to the anesthetics. But still, it left him wondering if it was that or his mom's presence that was the most painful and annoying.
He loved his mother more than anything, there was no doubt about that, and deep down he was infinitely grateful for the way she raised him practically on her own. But this week also reminded him why it hadn't been this hard to accept the Academy's proposition for a scholarship even though it meant coming to live in the US and not see his mother for months on end. For a week, she spent almost every waking minute with him, only going back to her hotel to shower and sleep and coming back as soon as visiting hours started. And even though she denied it, he suspected that she was trying to punish him for not calling by acting embarrassingly tactile with him and telling all the supposedly cute -but actually awfully embarrassing- stories about him to anyone who would listen to her. Including the very pretty young nurse he thought made a flirty comment about his eyes and which he wouldn't be able to look in the eyes now thanks to the comment her mom said about his eyes being dilated because of her and not because of a lack of light in the room when she came to check on him later.
Well, at least he could store that story for when she'd start asking why he was forty and single and still hadn't given her grand children.
At some point, he even kind of regretted that Simmons left and didn't come back even just once. Sure, she was annoying and she often made his blood boil but he had to admit that their conversations were more often than not quite stimulating and at least if they made him flush red sometimes, it was out of exasperation and not embarrassment. And that was infinitely better. But he supposed she'd already done enough by staying with him for hours everyday for four days and like she said, they weren't even friends anyway. Which, to his own surprise, made him feel a bit sad. Especially when he thought that, even though he'd try not to aggravate her voluntarily considering how nice she'd been, they would likely go back to their usual bickering when working together and ignoring each other the rest of the time.
So when his doctor came and told him he would be released the next morning and his mom decided on her own, probably by some sort of miracle, that it was time for her to go home and that he'd be alright on his own, Fitz really tried his best not to look too happy about it. He was sincerely a bit more relieved about being released from the hospital than by seeing his mother go -he knew he'd miss her at some point in the months to come- but he'd been dreading the possibility that she would insist on accompanying him to the Academy. It was hard enough making friends there because he was so much younger than everybody else, he didn't need his mom treating him like a baby in front of everyone on top of it. Not to mention that it being basically a spy Academy, she would probably not be welcome and he really didn't want to have to explain that to her.
When Saturday came, Aileen helped Fitz pack his bags and dress up in actual clothes, which made him feel human again, and put him in a cab en route to the Academy, but not before showering him with kisses and embarrassing motherly affection. As always, Fitz mumbled and groaned and acted like it was too much but he still held on to her a little longer when she gave him a final hug before closing the door and taking her own cab to the airport.
Saturday afternoon and evening was spent rather quietly. He'd planned on catching up on the whole week of class he'd missed but found out that it'd be harder than he thought on his own. A few professors had been nice enough to send him a sum up and book references for the classes he missed as well as assignments by email but most of them didn't and weren't apparently willing to answer a student's email on a Saturday. By the end of the day, he had finished everything he could do and, surprisingly considering he'd just spent a week lying in a hospital bed doing next to nothing, he was tired enough to fall asleep watching the latest Doctor Who episode.
When Sunday morning came, Fitz spent a long time debating with himself about what he should do. He'd done all the work he could with what the professors sent him and now he'd have to wait till Monday to catch up on the rest of it. He thought about spending the day catching up on a few shows or even start a new one, something he hadn't done since he started at the Academy. But somehow he knew he'd feel guilty doing only that at some point. Fortunately, going out to have a bit of physical activity was out of the question with the cast on his leg and the one on his hand. Not that it was what he would have ended up doing even without his injuries, but at least for once he didn't have to feel guilty about it.
So after, letting out a big sigh, he took one of the several big boxes filled with shortbread his mom had given him (how she found the time to bake so many before taking the plane to come see him, he'd never know, he'd already even considered the possibility that she was making them appear magically) and made his way towards Simmons' room two floors up. He went there once to bring her back the one pen he borrowed from her when she just wouldn't stop texting him about it and insisting he didn't forget to bring it back the next day. It wasn't even a nice pen and he'd wondered if she really was that neurotic or if she did it only to piss him off. The thought almost made him turn back as it reminded him how much she usually aggravated, but he couldn't help thinking back on the kind of nice moment they had back at the hospital, not to mention how incredibly selfless it had been of her to stay with him for so long. It had taken him a whole day to shake off the effects of the anesthetics and he couldn't really remember if he properly thanked her. They'd probably never be friends but at least, if he acted like a decent person and went to do just that, maybe it would make their interactions simpler and even make the whole process of working together actually agreeable.
Once he reached her door, he took a big breath and was about to knock when the door opened and he almost crashed into her, having temporarily lost his balance. Her hands came up to his shoulders almost automatically to steady him but she quickly took them away and took a step back before either of them had the time to acknowledge how awkward it was that they basically fell in each other's arms for a second.
"Oh Fitz … hi …" She said in a weird exaggeratedly cheery voice that exuded awkwardness. Which, he supposed, was an improvement since she usually only expressed annoyance, frustration or even slight anger whenever she saw him.
"Hey I hu … the other day's still a bit blurry and I didn't remember if I properly thanked you for you know … coming to see me and … hu everything …" Fitz stammered and he realized that maybe he should have taken a moment to decide what he wanted to say to her. Which probably explained why it was so hard for him to make friends. Pointing out people's mistakes or mocking the way people did things came easily to him. But saying something nice, that was another story … Not that he didn't think nice things but he was just supposed to thank her for spending so much time making sure he wouldn't wake up alone, he wasn't going to tell her he noticed how pretty her hair was in the morning sunshine or how flattering her dress was on her slight form. These would have sounded flirty when they were really just simple observations. But on the other hand, it made him feel even weirder and more vulnerable to try and express his feelings to her: how he was grateful for her being there when he woke up and making him feel not so lonely for the first time since he arrived at the Academy.
Fortunately, she seemed to pick up on what he was trying to say and was nice enough to cut off his ramblings.
"It's alright Fitz, I'm sure you would have done the same for me …" She started before scrunching up her nose as she considered what she just said. "I mean I'm not sure of that" She corrected herself. "I don't know you all that well and I find you exasperating most of the time but you haven't given me a reason to think you're not a decent person so I think, given those special circumstances, you would probably have done the same so really …"
"You mean if I felt guilty for wishing you were in a terrible accident and you actually were?" He cut her off with a teasing grin. Seeing how she fidgeted with the stack of books and binders she was holding and moving restlessly from one foot to the other somehow made him feel better because she was obviously as uncomfortable as he was, trying to say nice things. She rolled her eyes at him but before she could reply anything he added: "But yeah … I would have done the same I guess but still … thank you for doing it. It truly was nice not waking up on my own …" He finished, his voice getting lower and smaller at the end, like it would make him less vulnerable if he didn't say it too loud.
She just smiled at him. A small smile but soft and genuine and, at least that was how it felt, a little bit knowing.
"Anyway …" He said after a moment of silence that seemed to last just a little bit too long. It was obviously still new for them to be nice to each other and he decided he should stop now before things got out of hands and they reverted back to their usual fighting and arguing. "You look like you were on your way out so I'm not going to bother you any longer …"
"Oh no actually I was coming to see you." She cut him off and he raised his eyebrows, which made her chuckle a little nervously. "I thought you'd like to start catching up on the classes you've missed, I would have come yesterday but I didn't know you were out of the hospital yet …"
"Oh that's … that's yeah … that'd be good but …" And now he was stuttering again. "You don't have to do that you know … I mean if you still feel guilty about that voicemail … I was kidding earlier and you already made up for it tenfold anyway and …"
"Ugh Fitz!" She cut him off with a annoyed huff that seemed much more familiar than the rest of their conversation until now. "I'm not donating you a kidney, I just made copies of my notes and the assignments you'll have to work on and picked up extra books at the library for you to work on it before they were all taken. It didn't take me more than five extra minutes each day so really no need to make such a fuss …" She said and it still gave him a surprisingly warm feeling in his chest. Because even if it didn't take her a lot of time, it meant that at least one person had thought about him and made a conscious effort to make life easier for him. "And also your mom asked me to help once she'd be gone!" She added.
Oh. Of course that made much more sense. That shouldn't surprise him but it still stung for some reason.
"Oh … well that's nice of you and this will help a lot but hum …" He started, trying his best to convey gratefulness and not the surprising disappointment he felt at the idea that it wasn't her decision to be so thoughtful. "You don't need to worry about it anymore, mom's gone back to Glasgow, she cannot ask anything else of you now …" He finished and once again, she rolled her eyes.
"Fitz! It's not like she forced me to do it. She's a sweet woman who, for some reason, loves you very much and she was worried for her bullheaded son who thinks he doesn't need anyone when he's in the hospital with half his limbs pretty much useless …" She said with a pointed look and once more it felt like her mother was speaking directly through her and he bowed his head down in guilt. "So I thought that was the least I could do!" She finished with a look that made him feel really small despite the slightly amused smile tucking at her lips and the fact that he did have a good ten centimeters on her now thanks to his very recent growth spurt.
"Oh … okay then … thank you …" He said. Then, as he was racking his brains to try and find something to make this feel less awkward, he remembered the box he was holding in his arm and just pulled it up, opening the lid to show it to her. "Oh speaking about my mom, she asked me to give this to you so hum … here" He said, waiting for her to take it.
"Awwww, you are a nice obedient little boy after all!" She teased, balancing her books on one hip to free one of her hands and going to pick up one of the shortbreads from the box. But before she could, he closed it back with a loud groan.
"On the other hand, if you'd rather make fun of me instead of accepting this token of gratitude, I can just pack these up and …" He started but she cut him off with a small watery laugh that was quite different from how she usually reacted to his grumpy attitude and that he found annoyingly pretty.
"Hey hey hey … just kidding … don't be so hasty just … give me the shortbread please …" She said, slowing down her voice like he was handling explosives. And from the sparkle in her eyes at the sight of the biscuits, she wasn't as completely immune to the powerful attraction of sugar and fat as she let on and it made him chuckle despite himself.
"Fine, you can have it … I'm almost a hundred percents positive I didn't poison that specific batch …" He grumbled and she gently rolled her eyes before taking the box from him. They fumbled for a moment to try and exchange her stack of books and binders for the box and when they finally managed to do it, Fitz realized that with a painful broken wrist and a cast down to his knuckles which basically made this hand useless, it wasn't as easy to hold on to the heavy books as it was to hold a simple box of biscuits.
Noticing the slight discomfort written on his face, she tilted her head to the side until she realized what was bothering him.
"Hum do you maybe need help bringing this back to your room?" She asked quite gently.
"Oh no don't worry … it's not a long way to walk I'll be …"
"Fitz!" She cut him off with a pointed look.
"Yeah all right …" He conceded.
"Okay let me just …" She trailed off, turning around to put the box on her desk. That gave him the opportunity to give her room a quick look. He was so exasperated the last time that he didn't even notice it, but this was probably the nicest a room in a student dormitory had ever looked. Most students had a few posters up on the wall to make it feel less depressing and at best they managed to make the place clean and tidy. But Jemma Simmons' room was another thing entirely. Somehow it looked like it was out of an interior design magazine. She'd hanged tastefully framed art on the walls, there were several plants and flowers all around the room that made it smell really nice and she put several colorful but assorted cushions and throws all around the room to make it feel warmer. The only thing lacking was maybe a cat curled up on the small armchair she managed to sneak into the small space between her bed and her desk but he had to admit it still looked a lot more inviting than his own messy cave of a room.
"Fitz?" She asked with a slightly confused but amused smile and he realized he must have been staring into her room for longer than he thought.
"Sorry … sorry … it's just … it's a really nice room, very … grown up …" He finished lamely but that made her chuckle.
"Hum Thanks … I guess …" She replied before moving to take the books from him.
"Oh no I can still carry some of those …"
"Fitz don't be ridiculous!" She cut him off. "it's not all that heavy and you need to go easy on your wrist or it'll just take longer to heal." She finished and gave a pleased little smile once he gave up and let her take back the whole stack.
"All right …" He said, waiting for her to close the door before starting to walk towards the stairs. "Whatever you say …doctor!"
"That's the spirit …" She grinned.
-0-0-0-
Jemma Simmons had a pretty well established schedule from the moment she woke up to the moment she went to bed every night with the exception of Saturdays and Sundays where she allowed herself a little improvisation. She usually woke up at least two hours before the start of class so she could have the time for either a bit of light reading, studying if she had a test or going for a run at least a few times a week. She knew she wanted to apply for field work when she graduates from the Academy and for that she'd have to be fit at least. After that, she liked to take a long shower, take her time to get dressed and ready for the day and still have time to catch a breakfast from the cafeteria before entering the classroom a comfortable ten to fifteen minute before the start of class.
What her schedule didn't usually involve was stopping by a certain Scottish grumpy engineer's room before going down the cafeteria for breakfast. Things had been surprisingly nice and civil between them the previous day. Quite awkward on several occasions but still, almost friendly. Fitz's mom had only expressed how she was relieved that he had found someone who could look out for him and she looked so worried about her son's injuries that Jemma didn't have the heart to tell her that there was nothing she wanted less than look out for this insufferable grump on a daily basis and that her act of kindness towards him could only be attributed to a moment of weakness and quite a big amount of guilt. And so Jemma had heard herself tell that sweet woman that she'd look out for him and make sure his injuries heal properly. And she supposed it was vague enough for her to simply have to enquire about it when she sees him in class every day and give him a few advices to make sure he did nothing to delay his recovery. But the doctor in her noticed how he was still trying to use his broken wrist and how he was balancing too much weight on his broken leg. That would definitely slow down the recovery and possibly leave lasting damages and stubborn as he was, she knew he would stop following her advices the moment she was out of sight and she couldn't let that happen. Never let it be said that Jemma Simmons wasn't true to her word. Also, his mom had insisted that he wouldn't have had this accident if he ate and slept properly and even though a lack of sleep could theoretically slow down one's reactions, his eating habits really didn't have anything to do with it. But Jemma had been all too quick to agree because that would give her a reason to pester him about eating sweets in class. That wasn't healthy anyway and it would probably annoy the hell out of him. She was doing all of this mostly out of pure generosity, there was no reason she couldn't at least get a little fun out of it.
And as much as she tried to forget about it, she couldn't help coming back to this image of him, worryingly pale, lying on that hospital bed, completely still, bruised and with his damaged arm and leg. And god knows she didn't like him but seeing him like this had made her heart clench. Maybe because it reminded her that, as annoying as he was, he was just like her, a teenager living in a foreign country, not even old enough to drink or vote but still depressingly alone in this hospital bed. And then yesterday, he had looked so pathetic, limping about, using his crutch with only one good arm to use that she decided she would take care of him from now on wether he wanted it or not.
Well, at least until the casts were off, she was a doctor not a saint.
So looking down at her watch and smiling pleasingly when she realized she still had a comfortable forty-five minutes before the start of class, she grabbed her backpack, her keys and her jacket, walked out of her room and made her way two floors down to Fitz's room.
Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door. For a moment, there wasn't a single noise coming from the room and she wondered if he already was on his way to class, which didn't sound like him at all, so she knocked a second time, more vigorously.
Another moment of silence and then finally a voice.
"Who is it?" She heard him shout through the door.
"Jemma …" She started before correcting herself. "Simmons … Jemma Simmons"
He'd called her Jemma a few times at the hospital but he didn't do it since then so she supposed it was just the drugs making his brain a little fuzzy. Which disappointed her a bit. Everyone called each other by their family name here, which made sense because they'd have to get used to call each other Agent anyway, but it was terribly cold and impersonal and she missed having someone calling her Jemma. And again it must have been the drugs taking his usual barriers down but he'd made it sound warm and friendly. But then, he'd also looked on the verge of tears a few times so really, definitely not his normal state.
"What are you doing here so early?" He asked, still through the doors and she huffed in annoyance.
"Coming to see if you need help with anything!" She replied, trying her best to still sound friendly and like she was pleased to do it. He was prickly enough for the both of them.
"Oh …" He just let out. "Just a minute …"
She heard movement in the room, things being moved around, then a few typically Scottish curses that made her smile despite herself and finally, the door opened, revealing an obviously still very sleepy Fitz. Thanks to the hospital benefiting directly from the technology developed in SHIELD, Fitz had one of those relatively thin microfiber casts on his leg which meant he could wear his usual trousers as long as they weren't too snug but as for the rest, he was still only wearing socks and a simple undershirt. His hair was a mess, he obviously hadn't had the time to shave properly and with his blue eyes shining in the morning light, she had to admit, despite herself, that he looked rather adorable. Which prompted an involuntary smile from her, which he obviously interpreted as teasing. Looking down at him and then back at her, he rolled his eyes.
"We cannot all look so fresh in the morning Simmons, that's not human!" He grumbled in a lower than usual voice and she smiled even wider, deciding to take it as a disguised compliment.
"Oh by the way, you shouldn't sleep with your door unlocked, that's really not safe and …"
"Too early Simmons! I don't usually say so many words before eight AM so just … you know …" He said, almost pleadingly so she decided to let it slide. Or most likely to store that for later when he'd be fully awake.
"Alright so … do you need help with something? Carrying your books or I don't know, finish getting dressed …"
"NO!" He cried out, reflexively folding his arms across his chest with an affronted look. His mother was right, he really was too prudish.
"Ugh Fitz I didn't say UNdress you, trust me that really is the last thing I want to do. I only suggested you might need help getting dressed! Have you ever tried buttoning a shirt with only one hand?"
"Uh no. No no no I'm fine but hu ... thanks …" He replied a little sheepishly, obviously realizing he had overreacted. "But hum … now that you're here and we're heading to the same classroom anyway, I wouldn't mind a little bit of help to carry some of my stuff … you know like books and such … if you don't mind."
"Sure … I'll just wait here while you finish getting dressed." She answered before sitting on his desk chair. Which was the only place that wasn't loaded with clothes or stacks of books or drawings. Although, to his credit, the place looked significantly better than the previous day. At least the floor was mostly free of the clutter that had been there and the place actually smelt nice. It wasn't warm by any stretch with its only poster of space hung on the wall but at least, it felt less like walking into a cave. Still, she understood why he'd looked at her own room that way the previous day. Compared to his, it must have looked like something out of an interior design magazine.
For the first few minutes, from the corner of her eye, she watched him try to tie his laces with one hand and the tip of the fingers of his bad hand and even though the result wasn't very convincing, she had to admire his perseverance. After that, he managed to put his shirt on without too much trouble but things got tricky when he tried buttoning it. But she had to admit that he had quite deftly fingers because he still managed to do several of them with only one hand. At some point, she became so fascinated by it that she didn't even try to hide that she was looking at him directly.
A smile started to tuck at her lips though, when it became evident that he wouldn't be able to do them all, especially when he got closer to his neck and couldn't really see it. Her smile got even bigger when she noticed he missed one button at the beginning and that he would have to do it all over again. She supposed she could tell him now and save him some time but he really was quite stubborn about it and she was frankly curious to see how long he would insist before asking for her help.
"Well …" He let out a few minutes later. "I'm ready now, we can go!" He declared with his arms crossed over his chest as best as he could and a defiant look in his eyes that seemed to mean "that's exactly the look I was aiming for". She tried her best to give him her most innocent smile as she gave him a slow once over from head to toe. His shoe laces were already starting to get untied, his shirt was still half open with several missed buttons, not to mention his hair: she didn't think it was humanly possible for such short hair to get so messy. She was tempted not to say anything and actually start walking to class with him, just to see how more stubborn he could get but seeing him like this, she realized that he did not only look like he got dressed in the dark but also that he might look properly debauched. She blushed as her over imaginative brain couldn't help but procure very clear images of how she could have helped getting him in such a state. She blamed her stupid hormone addled adolescent brain for that. However smart she was, sometimes there was just no escaping biology. So she really didn't want people to see them both get out of his room so early in the morning with him looking like this. It was hard enough getting accustomed to life at the Academy and all that was new in her life, she didn't need rumors started about them.
So after a long minute of looking into each other's eyes, she finally said:
"I think you missed a button there."
He remained serious and pretended to look down like he didn't know what he looked like but when he looked back up and their eyes crossed and she was raising her eyebrows, biting her lip to stop herself from smiling too wide, the beginning of a smile appeared on his lips as well and that was enough to break her restraint and he followed her when she finally burst out laughing. As laughter made her shoulders shake, she remembered that the last time she'd laughed like that in a long time was with him at the hospital a week ago. Apparently, he had the capacity to drive her out her mind with anger but it seemed that he was also the only here capable of provoking such a delightfully freeing reaction from her. Did this mean that they could actually come to appreciate each other at some point? It was all so confusing.
When the laughter finally calmed down, Jemma pressed her fingers into the corner of her eyes to wipe the few tears that had escaped and looked back up at him with an expectant and teasing smile. He was still slightly hunched over his desk and looked even more disheveled than before.
"So hum Jem … Simmons … could you help me … fix all this?" He asked with a shy little smile as he used a finger to point at basically all of him and she smiled mischievously.
"Well … I can help with the clothes, there's not much I can do with the rest of you!" Se let out before realizing that what she meant as innocent teasing might have sounded really mean. She actually didn't think there was something wrong his him. Well, he had quite an infuriating personality but physically speaking, he was quite alright she supposed. He was rather pleasantly symmetrical with, she had to admit, strikingly blue eyes and a skinny body he would likely grow out of, being only sixteen and having mandatory physical tests to pass to graduate from SHIELD.
Fortunately, he seemed to take her teasing for just what it was.
"Just the clothes please, for the rest … well there's no fixing perfection!" He grinned and she huffed and rolled her eyes but there was no real bite to it. If anything, she found that she quite liked this friendly teasing. It was a refreshing feeling. She would have thought that being vulnerable would make him even more defensive but it actually made him softer and a little less prickly.
"Let's fix those first!" She said, getting on her knees in front of him and gesturing towards the laces of his sneakers. "You don't wanna trip and fall on top of everything else ..."
"Yeah ..." He chuckled before nervously clearing his throat and adding: "If we both acknowledge that this is really awkward, does that make it a little less awkward?"
Looking up, she realized what part of his anatomy her eyes were facing when she sat back on her heels and chuckled in amusement although she could feel there was a little pink tinting her cheeks.
"Maybe a little ...but let's agree to never do that in public …" She grinned before checking one last time that the laces were tied tightly and stood up, brushing invisible dust from her knees.
"So if my shoe laces get untied in the middle of the day …"
"Yeah you're on your own!" She finished for him and he gasped in fake shock like he did so often. It usually annoyed her because he used it to make fun of her but this time, it felt different and more like friendly banter than anything so she just snorted and carried on with unbuttoning his shirt completely to re-button it up properly. It wasn't exactly awkward like kneeling in front of him had been but it felt weirdly … intimate. They'd rarely had to stand so close and certainly not alone in his room while facing each other. Not to mention that undressing or dressing a person wasn't something you did for just anyone. They barely knew a few things about each other besides what was obvious to the naked eye and they could definitely not be considered friends. They were just barely starting to tolerate each other's presence so why did she find this to be kind of not completely disagreeable? Maybe because he had that fresh out of the shower smell she always liked or because that plaid shirt really was soft or maybe, maybe because the few times she looked up, he had a surprisingly soft look in these, again, annoyingly pretty blue eyes of his. She realized she must have been missing real friendly interactions a lot if this was enough to give her some kind of warm feeling in her chest. Of course, she'd met a lot of people since she came to the Academy and there were a few of them with whom she spent a bit of time between classes but no one she'd felt any kind of connection with or felt like she could become really friends with. And actually the only person which stood out from all of this was Fitz. She could barely stay in his presence for five minutes without rolling her eyes all the way to the back of her head but if someone asked her now for the name of one person she was sure to remember ten years from now, the only one who'd come out would be Fitz's.
Fortunately, she was pulled out of that weird trail of thought by Fitz's voice.
"You know, if we were back in the nineties, I could have velcro sneakers and we wouldn't have this problem! What a sad unimaginative era we live in!"
"Well you're an engineer … make them yourselves …" Jemma grinned and he rolled his eyes.
"Yeah 'cause we all have so much time to work on personal projects like that … hey I think you missed the top button." He cut himself off.
"No it's better that way, trust me …" She replied without really thinking about it. It's only when he looked at her with wide eyes and a raised eyebrow that she realized that maybe she shouldn't have an opinion on what looked best for him. "What? It's just one button Fitz and you're wearing an undershirt, don't be so prudish!"
"What? No that's not why I was …"
Of course she knew that wasn't what had surprised him but she really didn't want to have to explain to him that it made the elegant line of his neck stand out better that way.
"Never mind … what about my tie?"
"Yeah, lose that too …"
"Oh great! Now I'm gonna look even younger!" He scoffed. "Do you know how hard it is when you barely look old enough to be in high school and …" He started but she huffed at him.
"Of course I know, we're the same age Fitz! And the tie doesn't make you look older, it makes you look like a kid playing dress up …"
"What? No! My mum said it …" He started but she let out a small laugh that shut him up and made him glare at her in a a very familiar way.
"Not helping your case by mentioning your mum Fitz …" She grinned and he let out a loud sigh.
"Fine Simmons you win … It's not like I'll be able to do it myself anyway …"
"Good choice Fitz!" She said, lightly patting his chest with a pleased little smile. "That thing is a hazard anyway … someone might be tempted to strangle you with it …"
"Yeah I guess you would know …" He replied and despite the meaning behind their words, they shared an amused smile … that lasted until Jemma tried to put one hand in his hair and he shrieked as he stepped back almost automatically.
"Hey what are you doing?" He cried out and she glared at him, feeling somehow a little hurt that he'd recoil at her touch.
"Putting some order in that bird's nest you call your hair?"
"No that's that's … alright. Took me years to find out how to properly tame them … you're gonna make things worse!"
"Rude!" She let out with a huff. "But come on, you look like a mad scientist, you cannot go out like that!" She said, gesturing towards the small mirror on his wall. If she was being completely honest, she still found it a bit cute but it made him look even more juvenile and she supposed that really wasn't what he would aim for.
"Alright …" He said a little sheepishly and she took a step forward to stand in front of him once more. For the first time, she was realizing how he was actually noticeably taller than she was when she'd been almost positive they were the same height when they first met. Maybe, he just went through a growth spurt, which made her a little jealous because it was clearly over for her and she wouldn't have minded a few extra centimeters. Anyway, she had to go up on her tiptoes to see what she was doing properly and carefully threaded her fingers through his hair.
"Mmmh soft …" She let out, her voice barely more than a whisper and more to herself than to him. She didn't expect the soft springy quality of it. Still, when she looked back at his face, she could see the pink tinting his cheeks and couldn't help smiling.
After a minute of finger combing his hair and trying her best to tame it, she moved back and looked at him with a pleased smile.
"There, all done!"
Turning around, he looked at the mirror and gasped before turning back to her, trying to affect a casual air.
"'s not bad" He said, running his one usable hand through his hair and Jemma fought her instinct to swat it so he wouldn't mess what she'd just done. "And you didn't even use gel or …"
"You should't use gel, the alcohol in it will make the roots greasy and the tips dry." She cut him off and he grinned.
"Yeah would be too bad since it's so all so soft …" He said, waggling his eyebrows exaggeratedly.
"Ugh Fitz, it wasn't a compliment, just an observation!" She huffed, stepping away from him to grab her bag and maybe hide the slight smile his ridiculous expression had provoked.
"Oh no it was a compliment alright Simmons! You can't take it back now!"
"Mmmh maybe you should wear the tie after all …" She suggested with a too sweet smile and he huffed before grabbing his crutch and clumsily put his bag on his shoulder and across his chest.
"Fine, shall we go then?"
She nodded, opened the door for him and closed it behind her.
"So did you have breakfast already?" She asked as she waited for him to close the door.
"Do I look like I already had breakfast?"
"Yeah guess not … well I'm going to grab something from the cafeteria, do you wanna come along?"
"Did my mom also ask you to feed me?" He asked with a suspicious look.
God, Jemma thought. Was he just completely paranoid or did something happen in his life to make him believe that people couldn't just be friendly and always had an ulterior motive?
"No! I just thought that since we're heading to the same class after anyway and that you might want to eat something, we might as well walk there together. Also, if you have a proper breakfast, maybe I won't have to suffer through seeing you eating sweets and all types of junk food all day!"
"So you're asking me out to breakfast then?"
"What no! How could you even …" She started until she turned around and saw his pleased little grin. "Ah ah Fitz that's hilarious really. God, one week without seeing you and I almost forgot how annoying you are!"
"Aww you missed me Simmons!" He insisted.
"Ugh Fitz!"
The moment his wrist cast was off and he wouldn't need her help that much couldn't come fast enough.
