"So ... what do you think?" Fitz asked anxiously.

Jemma had rather successfully maintained a poker face during his whole presentation and even though Sneezy had worked perfectly, he couldn't wait to know what she had to say about it. Somehow after less than two months, she had become the person he valued the opinion the most, and not only when science was involved.

"Hmmm ..." She started, keeping a neutral face for a five seconds until her smile almost split it in two and she started clapping her hands in excitement. "Fitz, i'ts fantastic! obviously!" She cried out and a big smile made its way on his own face.

"Ugh please Jemma, it's he not it!" He grinned.

"Of course ..." She grinned back.

"So you really like it?" He asked a little bashfully.

"Yeah ... I mean, it-sorry he works perfectly, even better than we thought. There was only a small drop of lavender oil on this scarf and I think it's been here for weeks, maybe months, it's incredible! And the design is just perfect and so elegant. It was really good on paper but now it's even better ... Well done Fitz, you're amazing!" She said and he could feel himself blushing more and more with every compliment. He shrugged like it was nothing and she smiled fondly before grinning at his words.

"Wow ... thank you but you know I couldn't have made it without you ... so really you should congratulate yourself as well as me!"

"Well ... I'm a bit too humble for that but I'm not above taking compliments from you though ..."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mhhmmh ..."

"Well, I'd say you're quite amazing yourself ..."

"Yeah ..."

"And a brilliant biochemist ..."

"Mmhhmm" She answered raising her eyebrows in defiance and he grinned even wider.

"And very very nice and funny and you make excellent sandwiches and hmmm ... you have very good ... organizational skills and ..."

"Okay I think that's enough, it's getting kind of lame ..." She said, laughing while raising her hands to his chest to stop him.

"No wait there's more ... You also have a really nice-mmphffff" He started but she cut him off by putting her hand over his mouth so he grabbed her wrist to try and free himself, then she grabbed his wrist and that started a little harmless fight that ended by both of them laughing out loud and panting as they flopped down on his couch.

"Sorry ..." She said breathlessly. "Are we close enough for that?" She asked, grinning and he chuckled. Since that evening a few weeks ago, it had become some kind of private joke between them. They started using it every time any of them did something they thought the other might feel uncomfortable with but soon they were asking it about anything just new or just a little unusual. And every time, the answer was the same.

"Yeah, I think we are."

And every time, they shared that same soft smile that always warmed his heart.

For the past few weeks, they'd spent so much time working on the drones that he barely had time for anything else outside of work. It was all so exciting that, after a time, he realized he was thinking about Aida less and less every day. And when he did and it put him in a sour mood or made him sad, Jemma was always there to lift his spirits a bit. She was always willing to forget about their planned working session for a night of Doctor Who, pizza and beer. More and more often, work was merely and excuse to hang out with the person who was soon becoming his best friend. He kept telling himself that his "poor heartbroken little puppy face" would stop working at some point, or at least that he should stop using it and just be confident enough in their friendship to tell her what he really wanted to do when he asked her to come, but he wasn't totally ready to get rid of his fears.

"So what were you gonna say about me?" She asked, grinning again.

"Nope, too late ... shouldn't have interrupted me ..." He teased.

"Come on, I have a really nice ..." She said, raising an eyebrow and he couldn't help the big mischievous grin that split his face when he realized the many inappropriate ways he could have ended that sentence.

He actually meant to say handwriting since he honestly told himself that when he first saw her handwritten notes in his flat that famous morning but now that he thought about it, she had a lot of really nice ... things. Which of course made him blush and probably made her think he was actually talking about one of those things to begin with.

"Fitz!" She cried out, swatting his arm.

"Just kidding, I know we're definitely not close enough for ... that" He grinned and she rolled her eyes softly. He marveled at how they'd fallen into such an easy camaraderie and he told himself one more time how he should really stop doubting them.

"So tell me ..."

"Nope ..."

"Fiiiitz please!" She said pouting and looking at him with big puppy dog eyes.

"Hey don't do that, that's unf ..." He started but then saw how she had raised her eyebrows almost up to her hairline and deflected, realizing how much he'd been using that same move himself lately.

"Fine I was gonna say handwriting 'cause of ... you know, all your little notes ..."

"Oh ..." She started. "How sweet ... and disappointing ..." She continued with a small grin. "I thought there were nicer ... things about me but I guess ..." But she was hit by a cushion before she could finish and they both burst out laughing once more.

-0-0-0-

"So I was thinking about the drones while I was watching TV the other day and I got an idea about what Doc could be"

"While watching TV?" Jemma raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Okay I might have been rewatching Snow White ..." He answered and she chuckled. "What? It's a classic. They got several oscars for it ..." He grumbled.

"Oh nothing wrong with that Fitz ... I think it's adorable that you still watch Disney movies at 26 !" She cooed and he glared at her, which made her giggle and as hard as he tried to keep glaring, he couldn't completely suppress a small smile.

"Moving on ... so I was watching Snow White and I got to thinking how Doc was kind of the unofficial boss of the group so I thought that Doc could be ..."

"Oh Fitz, I can't be the fifth drone, I'm a real person ..." She grinned.

"Hilarious"

"I know"

"And if anyone's the boss, it should be me, I started this project!"

"Oh really?" She mock-glared at him and he looked down. He knew the few assistants he was technically the boss of didn't like him much because of his bad temper and his tendency to expect them to know what to do without him asking for it. He really didn't want this kind of relationship with Jemma even though she did almost always knew what he meant before he had to say it.

"Fine, how about we remain equal in this partnership?"

"Yeah, much better!" She said with a soft smile.

"Now can I finish telling you about my idea without you interrupting?"

"Of course boss ..."

"Jemma ..." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Sorry ... please continue" She said, hiding her grin and supporting her chin on her hands to look up at him.

"So since Doc is the boss, I thought this drone could be like a master drone able to gather data from all the other drones through a really fast wi-fi connection and be able to do a 3D render of the whole room as well as make the connections between the different types of data before we even retrieve them. That could save a lot of time and it wouldn't even be that difficult to make, mostly software actually. So yeah ... what do you think?"

"That's ... yeah that's really good Fitz. It's really smart and it would be really useful ... and it would make complete sense with Doc as well!" She added with a big smile.

"Yeah yeah that's what I thought." He answered with an equally big smile.

"So which one are you going to build next? Not Doc I suppose, It would make sense to build him last." She said and he couldn't help noticing that, even if she smiled teasingly when he mentioned it earlier, she actually switched to "he" when talking about one of the dwarves.

"I was thinking Bashful"

"Which one is Bashful already?"

"The one who records a very wide range of sound and frequencies"

"Right ... so why is he called Bashful already?" She asked, scrunching up her nose in slight confusion.

"Well he's bashful so I guess he doesn't talk much ... which means he's probably a good listener so ..." Fitz said as he woke up his computer screen he displayed the plans and 3D drawings for said dwarf.

"Aww that's really sweet!" Jemma answered with a really soft smile and he rolled his eyes at her. He was mildly annoyed that she kept calling him sweet and adorable because it wasn't really helping his already thin male ego. But in the mean time he kind of liked it. The fondness with which she was always looking at him was something he hadn't really felt in a long time. Aida never looked at him like that, it was only something his mother and sometimes his friend Daisy used to do and he hoped he hadn't lost that.

"So ..." She started with a slightly shy tone. "There's no element of biochemistry in this one so I guess you won't need my help much more but I-I'll be glad to give you suggestions or my opinion on anything about the next dwarves or anything else ..."

"Right ... so say I need your opinion on the next Doctor Who episode?"

"What?!" She answered, bringing both her hands to her chest in exaggerated shock. "Do you mean we'd stop using flimsy work related excuses to see each other and actually plan on doing something fun together?" She asked and they smiled softly at each other.

"I thought we were having fun working on the Dwarves ..." He added with a small teasing grin.

"Fiiiitz you know what I mean ..."

"Yeah I know Jemma ..."

"And it was really sweet of you to start by building Sneezy when you had three other fully designed before ..."

"Oh no that's the least I could do after everything you did to help me and I wanted to anyway ... I mean this project would still only be a few drawings and plans if it wasn't for you. You reminded me how much I love engineering and science and -whatever you say- I'll always owe you for that"

He would have been a little embarrassed by the sudden surge of emotions in his voice if Jemma didn't squeeze his hand after that and looked at him with that fond smile again.

"Oh Fitz ..." She said and thankfully, she didn't wait too long to start talking again. If she hadn't, he knew he probably would have started blushing again.

"So we already have Sneezy, plans for bashful, happy, sleepy and now a good idea for Doc but what about Dopey and Grumpy?" She asked with a small smile and he wasn't completely sure if she was honestly curious or if she was teasing. So he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Well I don't think there'll be a Dopey, I don't know what could be the use of a stupid dwarf! I mean, what would he even do? Just fly around aimlessly and crash against the walls? Unless ... he could be used as some kind of distraction ..." Fitz started, planning on dismissing the notion of having a dopey drone but realizing that he might actually be on to something. He turned around on his chair to grab his notebook and a pen and started scribbling his idea. His mind was so occupied by this exciting new prospect that it took him a full minute to realize Jemma was looking at him with an expression that was half amused half expectant.

"Oh ... sorry" He said with a sheepish little smile, and put his pen down to turn back towards her. "I'll work on that later ..."

"Oh no that's alright. I like to see the cogs turn inside your brain." She said with a soft smile.

"Oh ... See that's why I like working with you so much. Even the most ridiculous idea can turn into something interesting when it comes from a conversation with you!" He said enthusiastically and she bowed her head down blushing. He wasn't used to giving compliments, especially when it came to intellectual matters but apparently she wasn't used to receiving them, which was quite surprising considering how smart she was.

"And what about Grumpy?" She asked, looking up again with a small grin.

"I really can't see the use of a grumpy drone but I'm open to suggestions"

Her grin turned a lot bigger before she answered.

"Maybe you don't need a grumpy drone because you would be Grumpy?"

"Well first of all, that doesn't make any sense because the idea is to sell the prototype so I wouldn't be the only one using it. And then you're calling me a dwarf AND using the old grumpy Scot cliché against me? Really Jemma? I'm so disappointed in you ..." He grumbled, rolling his eyes to the back of his head.

"Kind of proving my point though ..." She answered, now grinning even wider.

"Oh really?" He started but was cut short by his stomach letting out the loudest growl and she burst out laughing.

"Come on Grumpy, time to eat. Wanna go out and get something at that Italian place? My treat!" She said after a minute of him glaring at her in his best grumpy impression.

"Hum actually hum ..." He started, looking a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry I'm supposed to be leaving soon, I'm seeing some of my friends tonight. Daisy, she-she called a few days ago, I don't know why really, and we talked quite a lot and it was nice so she proposed that we meet up at the bar where we always used to go ..." He finished with a small smile.

Fitz had been so surprised to see Daisy's name appear on his phone when it rang a few days ago that for a moment he panicked, pretty sure that something bad had happened to one of his other friends. He really thought that would be the only reason for her calling him considering what happened the last time he saw her. They'd been at the bar for less than an hour, Aida was supposed to join them but she called at the last minute, asking him to come to her place instead. And he did just that, leaving his friends without much of an explanation. Not that they needed one, Aida just didn't like them and they knew it. From the way his friends all looked at him, they were clearly more than a bit mad at him because it was not the first it happened since Fitz started dating Aida. After that, he didn't hear from any of them and he felt too guilty to call them himself. And it was more than two months ago.

So he was sure that he would have to be the one to call and hope they'd forgive him but he hadn't find the courage yet. So when Daisy called and said she just wanted to know how he was and catch up on what was new in his life and was just generally really sweet, he was shocked. Not that she usually wasn't but she could be quite scary when she was mad. But she had apparently learned of his break up by a friend of a friend who knew Aida but however believable that was, he was glad that she'd made the first step towards him. Oh he would have to go through a lot of teasing and snarky remarks to be fully forgiven but at least he had her and hopefully his other friends back in his life.

"Oh that's great, I'm really happy for you Fitz!" Jemma said with a soft smile and a reassuring hand on his shoulder and he relaxed a bit. "Then I'll just pack my things and leave you to it then." She added as she stood up and started gathering her tablet, notebooks and other things splayed on his desk.

She still had that soft smile on her face but he could also see a hint of disappointment and that's what finally made him say what he'd meant to say since she arrived earlier that day.

"Wait! You can come with me if you want" He said, cringing at the way it sounded like he was pitying her.

"Oh no you'll be with your friends I don't want to ..." She started but he cut her off.

"Yes exactly ... I mean yeah I'll be with my friends and that's exactly why you should come. Because you are my friend as well you know. Do you understand what I'm ...?"

"Yes Fitz!" She cut him off with a pleased little smile.

"So please, come with me? I've actually been meaning to ask you to come along and Daisy wanted to meet you but I-I didn't know if you'd want to spend some time outside of work with-with ..."

"...my best friend?"

"Yeah?" He said with a big boyish smile on his face and he didn't even bother to hide his blush because he was just too happy. It's been so long since he felt that heartwarming feeling of knowing that the person that was becoming such an important part of his life felt the same about him.

"Yeah ..." She simply said and they smiled at each other for a moment before she spoke again. "Shall we go then?"

-0-0-0-

As they walked out of his building to walk towards the bar, the one where they first met, Jemma playfully laced her arm through his and looked at him with a little glint in his eyes.

"So how come Daisy said she wanted to meet me?" She asked.

"Might have mentioned you once or twice during the conversation ..."

"Oh really?" She said with a disbelieving tone when she saw how he refused to meet her eyes.

"Okay maybe a bit more than that ... you're the only good and interesting thing that happened in my life lately so what was I supposed to tell her?"

"Oh Fiiiitz"

"Yeah she said that too!" He answered, chuckling. For some reason, he seemed to inspire the same reactions people usually had with puppies. Especially to women. He didn't really know if it was a good or a bad thing though. "Anyway, she loves you already and I think you'll like her too. Just try not be offended if she tries a very bad english accent, she just watches way too much Downtown Abbey and she actually means it as a compliment!" He added and Jemma giggled.

"Oh and also don't mention the fact that you're my best friend as well because she can get really jealous!" He said, ducking his head down again. He wanted her to know that and Jemma had told him he was hers so he shouldn't be shy about it but he just couldn't help it. Fortunately, Jemma just smiled warmly to acknowledge his declaration and quickly changed the subject to avoid embarrassing him.

"I won't ... but I will keep it in mind! Now tell me about Daisy and your other friends. I need to be prepared!"

That was such a Jemma thing to do. Even when it was for an informal gathering of friends at a bar, she had to come prepared. So as they walked, he told her about his friends and as was the case more often than not when he was with Jemma, he had a smile on his face the whole time.

-0-0-0-

"As I live and breathe, is that the great Leopold Fitz himself?"

It was Friday night and despite the dim light and rather crowded space, Daisy, Mack and his other friends saw Fitz pretty much the moment he entered the bar with Jemma. If at first he was a bit embarrassed by the attention Mack's booming voice brought to him, in the end he was mostly grateful for his teasing tone that didn't seem to bare any resentment concerning how things went the last time he saw them all. He knew he'd be in for a lot of teasing for a while but he could live with that as long as his friends were back in his life and not too mad at him.

"Hi guys!" Fitz said with a tentative smile once he made it to the table and was pleased to see that two seats had been saved for him and Jemma.

"Leopold" They all answered in the same serious voice and he rolled his eyes as they all burst out laughing. He felt a little bit betrayed when even Jemma joined in even though she was nice enough to hide her laugh behind her hand.

"So ..." He raised his voice a bit, hoping they'd stop laughing so he could introduce Jemma. "Everyone, this is Jemma, Jemma this is Daisy, the giant over there is Mack" he said, pointing to his rather impressive friend who gave her a nod and a soft smile. "The slightly shorter one is Trip and the English one is ..."

"Lance Hunter!" She cut him off with an amused smile. "it really is quite a small world after all!" She added and the man looked at her in confusion, clearly not recognizing her.

"Hum-do you know each other?" Fitz asked, just as confused as Hunter and looking back and forth between the two of them. "Did you hum- you know did you ...?" Fitz added, hesitating between surprise and a bit of disgust. As much as he liked his friend Hunter, the idea of genius, pretty, delicate Jemma Simmons could have hooked up with someone like Hunter was more than a little disconcerting.

"Urgh no Fitz!" She cried out, earning herself a few chuckles and snorts from Fitz's friends.

"Hey! Rude." Hunter said, his voice a bit higher than usual. "I don't even know when ..."

"Does the name of Bobbi Morse rings a bell?" She asked and there were a few whistles. Their tumultuous relationship was no secret within their little group of friends and if Jemma knew her, this could become quite interesting. "Well I would hope so at least. Cause the last time, well only time we met in this very bar, and on the night we also met Fitz" She said turning to Fitz for a second before turning back to Hunter who seemed to have the beginning of a flicker of recognition on his face. "... you were quite busy sucking face with her. Which probably explains why you don't remember mine!" She finished and Fitz burst out laughing with everyone else. As she caught his eyes for a moment, he gave her a big grin and a thumbs up. He was strangely proud of her. There was no better way to be quickly accepted in this group than to make fun of Hunter and Jemma did it perfectly.

As Hunter started to connect the dots, Fitz pulled one of the vacant chairs for Jemma and then sat on the other between her and Daisy who gave his arm a little squeeze and smiled at him softly. His relationship with Daisy had always been a bit different than with his other friends. Even though she was two years younger than he was, she'd always felt like a big sister. Since they met when he started working at Scitech a few years ago, she'd taken him under her wing and kind of took care of him. Both having had a complicated childhood, they'd always craved for any kind of bond that resembled a family. And with that smile and that simple gesture, it felt like everything was gonna be okay. With Jemma in his life and all his older friends back, he finally felt like things were moving in the right direction.

"Oh yeah, I remember you now!" Hunter finally cried out and Jemma chuckled. "You're that English gal who works with Bob, the genius one. Bob never shuts up about you. If I didn't know better, I'd say she's in love with you actually!" He finished with a grin and she rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Well she is a great biochemist as I really like her as well, except when we go to the bar and she ignores me to snog her boyfriend that is!" Jemma answered with a small grin.

"Hey! We weren't snogging!"

"Sure that was a very innocent kiss and that's why you mysteriously disappeared into a dark corner of the bar after ten minutes!"

He looked like he was about to say something back but changed his mind and let out a big sigh.

"Okay I guess we started on the wrong foot. How about I go get you and Fitz a drink and we pretend like we're meeting for the first time?" He said with his most charming smile and Fitz couldn't help a small grin from tugging at his lips. Hunter could be a bit stupid whenever Bobbi was concerned but he was actually a really good person and he hoped Jemma would be able to see that.

"Sure!" She answered with a small but genuine smile. "I'll have a pint. Fitz?" She asked turning to Fitz, her smile turning a bit mischievous.

"Yeah same for me. Thanks Hunter!" He said with a big boyish smile.

"Yeah yeah yeah ... be right back"

"Jemma Simmons, I knew I'd like you!" Daisy said with a huge grin once Hunter had left the table.

"Because I made Hunter buy us beer?" Jemma answered with an amused smile.

"Yeah well that too, but you know, making fun of Hunter is our favorite activity when we're all together, it's like you're already part of the group!" Daisy said and Jemma let out a small laugh.

Fitz was so proud and happy that Jemma was so easily accepted by the group, well Daisy at least, the rest would follow inevitably anyway, that he almost missed a key information here. Almost.

"Hu wait Daisy, how do you know her full name is Jemma Simmons? I didn't tell you that!" Fitz asked, turning a suspicious eyebrow towards his friend.

"I'm pretty sure you did. How would I know anyway?" She answered.

"No I didn't!"

"No he didn't!" Both Mack and Trip said at the same time and Daisy glared at them before turning back to Fitz who was almost positive he saw a quick exchange of look between Jemma and Daisy.

"Well you must have told me on the phone then. It was mostly Jemma this and Jemma that for two hours anyway!"

"No it wasn't" Well it was pretty much the truth but he didn't want Jemma to think he was obsessed or that he didn't have anything else happening in his life at the moment. Even if he kind of already told her that only an hour ago. "and I never told you her family name, you remember I have an almost perfect memory right?" He said, raising a defiant eyebrow.

"Yeah yeah I know genius boy" She answered rolling her eyes and sending yet another look towards Jemma who looked more and more uncomfortable.

"So what Daisy? Oh my god ... Did you do background search on her again? I told you it's a nice intention but it's illegal and it can be kind of ..." He started but he was, surprisingly, cut off by Jemma.

"Fitz stop, it's not Daisy, it's me!"

"What? What do you mean?" He asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"Please please please don't be mad but ... you remember the other day when you were so sad and you told how much you missed your friends?"

"Yeah ..."

"Well I thought I could do something to help you so I might have looked up Daisy's contact in your phone while you were out of the room and sent her an email to tell her how bad you felt about the whole situation ..." She said, her voice trailing off at the end and almost literally shrinking on her chair as she exchanged worried looks with Daisy and waited for Fitz's reaction.

They visibly overestimated his bad Scottish temper if he thought he'd be really mad at her for trying to help patch things up with his friends. But they did conspire behind his back so he decided to let them sweat for just a moment. For once, Mack and Trip were more perceptive because they had a small grin tugging at their lips, visibly not all convinced by Fitz's glare.

"Fitz?" Daisy asked tentatively after a moment of silence.

"Well you might be an elf after all ..." He said, turning towards Jemma and not able to hide the small grin making its way on his face.

"Hu ... what?"

"You know going about people's houses and messing around with their properties ..." He said and if he'd been mad at her before, he surely couldn't be anymore with they way she was adorably flustered and bowed her head down in embarrassment.

"So you're not ...mad at me?"

"For what? making me see my friends again?" He answered, his grin getting wider and the two young women finally relaxed "... I mean I'm gonna have to tolerate Daisy again but apart from that I'm kind of happy ..."

"Hey! I still haven't decided if I'm going to take you back Leopold!" Daisy said, swatting his arm and they all laughed.

"And what if I buy the next round and even the one after that?" He asked, sliding both his arms around Jemma and Daisy's shoulders with his most charming smile. He knew he didn't have the physical presence of Mack or Trip's natural charm and self confidence but his juvenile appearance made him look innocent and he could easily get away with being tactile with women without ever looking suspicious. And since he was in the presence of his two favorite ladies, he would be damned if he didn't take advantage of it.

"I'd say your chances are getting higher!" Daisy answered as she laced her arm around his waist to give him a little side hug. Fitz laid a small peck on her cheek before turning around towards Jemma who was looking at him with an expectant look in her pretty hazel eyes.

"Thank you Jemma" He simply said and laid a tender kiss on her temple, lingering just a moment longer to appreciate the nice lavender smell of her shampoo.

"Look at him now ... since when is Fitz so smooth with the ladies?" Trip asked Mack with a big teasing grin on his face.

"Who knows? ... maybe Turbo finally reached puberty"

"Oh shut up you pricks!" He grumbled and they both grinned even wider. It was nice to have their old dynamic back.

When Fitz turned back to Daisy, there was a little glint in her eyes as they were flitting between Jemma and him and he rolled his eyes. Of course, he could kiss her cheek and hug her and do anything else, as long as it was with her, she would always see it as a perfectly innocent and friendly gesture. If he did it with any other woman, it had to have a secret meaning. Oh boy, he would never hear the end of it!

-0-0-0-

After Jemma and Fitz's noticeable entrance, the conversation went back on its track. Fitz looked very at ease and happy with his friends, just like he had started being with her after a time and it was so nice to witness. She did get along quite well with them as well, even with Hunter who was so glad to have another "British ally" in the group. But even though she really liked everyone, Daisy was the one Jemma liked the most from the beginning. They didn't seem to have so much in common but the young woman has such a fun and easy going personality that it was hard not to be charmed.

At some point, the boys decided to play pool and Jemma decided to stay at the table with Daisy. Not that she didn't like pool and she was always up for a little competition, but Daisy didn't want to play and Jemma thought it would be nice not to leave her alone. Also, she saw it as an opportunity to satisfy her curiosity about Fitz a bit.

"So there's something I've been meaning to ask ... I mean I could ask Fitz about but I-I don't want to bring back bad memories and I thought maybe you could ..."

"Ask away Jemma, I'll see if I can help!" Daisy cut her off with an easy smile.

"Well it's about Aida. How did they- I mean I only saw her once for a second and I know what Fitz told me but they look so ..."

"You wonder how these two ended up together?" Daisy cut off again.

"Yes! Exactly! Cause she looks so cold and sophisticated and Fitz is like a ..."

"teddybear!"

"... cute puppy!" The women both finished at the same time and chuckled and what were two quite simplistic but very accurate depictions of Fitz's character and appearance.

"I know right?" Daisy said after a moment. "Well overtime we all have developed several theories. I for one think she's a vampire and having no heart, she chose Fitz to feed off his own big big heart!"

"How romantic!" Jemma teased with a big smile.

"Also vampires are known to have psychic abilities so that would explain why he got so stupid when he was with her!" Daisy added, rolling her eyes good-naturedly and Jemma let out a small laugh. It was nice to see that Daisy didn't feel any real resentment and Fitz would probably be fine with just a lot of teasing. And he probably deserved it anyway.

"Another popular theory amongst us has been developed by Mack who watched way too much Terminator growing up. He thinks Aida is actually a robot who decided to learn about love and who could be better for that than our little teddybear?"

"Interesting!"

"I mean I'm not a big fan of that theory but you have to admit it makes sense ..."

"Well actually ... the technology already exists so with a lot of funding and a really really good engineer, say someone like Fitz ... it would theoretically be possible to build such a lifelike android ..." Jemma said with a smirk.

"Calm down Jemma, I wouldn't go as far as calling Aida lifelike ..." Daisy answered and they both chuckled. "Anyway don't tell that to Mack or we'll never hear the end of it."

"Anyway I noticed that in both those scenarios, you all seem to have a very high opinion of Fitz's heart ..." Jemma added after a minute with a fond smile.

"That's true, he can be dumb for such a genius sometimes and he's kind of shy and grumpy but I've never met someone with a bigger heart. He loves without restriction and would do anything for the people he loves. And he always manages to see the best in everyone. I guess that's what got him in trouble with Aida ..."

Jemma couldn't help nodding along because even if she didn't know him very long, Daisy's sentence felt perfectly right to her ears. Once she got past his shyness, she was able to see how sweet and gentle he could be. At first, he kept repeating that he had to make up for the way she took care of him that night but after a time, she realized that he just genuinely liked doing nice things for her. Sometimes she wondered if he was just too good to be true, but then he'd welcome her in his apartment with a cake he'd made himself and a big happy smile and she'd have to admit that he was the real deal.

"Thank you by the way ... For taking care of him when he was alone, he's like my baby brother and it didn't feel quite right not seeing him for so long ... And he does really think very highly of you, you know ..."

"Oh that's nothing ... that's-thank you but really I'm glad I did ... my life in New York was a bit lonely before I met him." Jemma said, blushing a bit and Skye looked at her with an amused little glint in her eyes that made her feel just a little bit uncomfortable, like she knew something Jemma didn't so she tried to change the subject.

"So how did they even meet? Aida and Fitz I mean."

"She was a consultant at SciTech for a time. They worked together on a project, she'd just been through a bad break-up and Fitz was a rebound. I think he appealed to her because he was everything she's not and different from everyone she ever dated. Once I heard her say that the way he was so honest and true and so completely in love was "refreshing""

"Urgh ..."

"Yeah I know right ... Anyway, he was completely in love and she just spent six months trying to turn him into every asshole she ever dated and he just kept finding excuses for her. It was just so unnerving and painful to watch. I knew, it would end badly but however hard it was on him, I still think it's a good thing they broke up. No one should try to change my Fitz but he just wouldn't listen to us when we tried to warn him ..." Skye said with a sad look in her eyes.

"Of course yeah ... It's hard to listen to reason when you're in love ..." Jemma answered with an understanding smile.

"Oh yeah I know. I don't really blame him. I know he's a romantic, sometimes to the point where it's ridiculous but it's part of his charm I guess!"

"Yeah I kind of noticed that ..."

"Oh really? And when did that happen?" Skye answered, a big grin on her face and Jemma realized what the fact that she noticed his romantic side could imply and she tried to explain herself immediately but she was interrupted by Fitz.

"Hey ladies! Need another drink? You're not talking about me, are you?" He asked, looking especially pleased with himself after destroying the boys at pool. Which made sense since the game relied mostly on precision and geometry.

"Urgh Fitz please. We have more interesting things to talk about than you!" Daisy answered immediately in fake annoyance and Jemma couldn't help giggling. They did have a brother/sister relationship that was quite sweet and entertaining to watch.

"But I do have plenty of very embarrassing photos of you to show Jemma. Like those pictures from your 23rd birthday where you looked like it was your 16th ..." Skye grinned.

"Oh no no no no, I already told you those need to be destroyed!" He said, his eyes widening and now Jemma really wanted to see them.

"Well then we're gonna need more drinks ..."

"Sure. Of course. My pleasure actually!" He said as he came between them to grab their empty glasses and laid a quick peck on Skye's left cheek and Jemma's right one. Skye rolled her eyes at his antics but when she looked at Jemma, she could see the fondness she felt reflected in her eyes. She didn't know if it was the ego boost given by his victory at pool or the slight buzz of alcohol but she liked that new cheeky and dare she say a bit flirty Fitz.

Once Fitz was out of sight, Skye turned to Jemma with a mischievous smile and took out her phone.

"Now let me show you those pictures!"