All characters belong to Marvel and AoS and all written mistakes/errors are undoubtedly my own. Many thanks for those of you who are reading! Hope you continue to enjoy!

When Monday morning rolls around Fitz wakes up far earlier than usual, grabbing his necessary things before heading out of the apartment. Instead of following his standard path to SciTech, he takes a slight detour and makes it to TeaTime just as Marta is flipping the window sign from CLOSED to OPEN.

He stands outside the door and waves tentatively at the older woman through the glass pane as she places her hands on her hips and looks at him with an expression that manages to convey both anger and disappointment. Fitz sighs at this and decides he needs to take drastic measures to get the older woman to stop glaring at him. He pouts his lips and kneels on the ground as he clasps his hands in front of him and silently begs her to let him enter the premises.

Marta stares at him for a few agonizing moments before jerking her head in acquiescence and stepping away from the door. Fitz hastily rises to his feet, brushing off the dirt from the sidewalk, and makes his way into the cozy shop. He barely makes it through the door before Marta's voice rings out from where she is standing by the register. "I am not happy with you Fitz. Jemma was in here Saturday morning, apologizing for her behavior, and she told me about what happened."

He groans at this because of course Jemma would apologize for something that he now realizes was at most only 20% her fault. His first assessment of his fellow Brit was clearly right on the money. The girl is unfailingly polite, even when it's him whose decorum is severely lacking. "I know Marta. I'm so sorry. I really blew it, which is why I'm here now."

The woman doesn't even look at him, just sniffs indignantly and resumes counting the bills in the till. "Please help me Marta. I'm meeting Jemma in…" he glances down at his watch to make sure he's still ahead of schedule, "… twenty minutes and I need to make it up to her. You're the only one who knows what her tea and pastries of choice are! Please, please, please help me."

The older woman lifts her head up during his groveling and Fitz can see in her eyes that she really does want to help him. He just needs to provide her with a better incentive to actually convince her to. "Marta, I will upgrade all of the appliances in the kitchen. I'll make sure Koenig buys a menu item an hour. I'll… I'll…" She's looking moderately intrigued but he's yet to mention anything that seems to really motivate her into helping him. Fitz isn't really sure what else he can offer when it suddenly hits him and he straightens up as he smiles down at the older woman. "Marta, I will never bring Skye here again."

This perks the older woman up instantly and her entire face lights up as she beams at him. She looks positively elated at the thought of a Skye-free shop but her face falls slightly at his knowing look. "Now Fitz, it's not that I don't adore Skye…"

"No, of course not. I know that."

"…but I can only tell her so many times that TeaTime does not serve coffee..."

"Yeah I'm sure that gets pretty grating."

"…and she changes our WiFi name to something obscene every time she's in here."

"Trust me Marta, you really don't need to explain why you want Skye to be banned."

She looks at him for a long moment before her smile returns and her hand extends in his direction. "Yes, Mishka. We have a deal. If you can keep Skye away, at least for a little while, I will accept your apology to me and help you with your apology for sweet Jemma. Come, come, and let's get you a box of her favorites!"

-O-

Fitz ends up leaving TeaTime with a box of various pastries and baked goods in one hand and a tray holding two cups of tea in the other. He glances at his watch and sees that he still has a solid thirteen minutes to reach the crosswalk before the customary time that Jemma tends to get there. It only takes him three minutes before he arrives at their usual collision point, which is perfect because not five minutes later he sees a familiar figure walking towards him with her eyes fixed on her phone.

He takes this moment to observe her, letting his mind view her simply as a woman walking in his direction rather than as a SciTech employee that he'd had more than one unpleasant exchange with. Her hair is flowing with the slight breeze and, not for the first time, he is struck by how truly pretty Jemma Simmons is. He feels a slight fluttering in his chest that reminds him of the similar feeling he'd experienced when he had first bumped into Jemma.

Ah, such simpler times.

He was just a guy and she was just a girl and during that first brief three minutes, they were completely unaware of their opposing stances and views. For three minutes, Jemma didn't associate him with SHIELD and Fitz didn't associate her with SciTech. She'd smiled up at him and he'd smiled right back down at her. He wishes he hadn't done such an incredible job of mucking things up during every interaction that followed.

Fitz feels another twinge of guilt when he realizes that Jemma too had left her apartment early but, instead of doing so with the intention of buying breakfast for someone she'd pissed off, she likely did it to avoid having to see him this morning. She's about five feet away from him when he decides to speak up.

"Hello."

Jemma comes to an abrupt halt and her head snaps up from where it had been focused on her phone to look in the direction of the voice that had broken her from her reverie. Her eyes narrow and her face turns cold when she sees that it's him who had spoken up and gotten her attention. She looks as though she's about to move to brush past him but after a brief moment her irritated expression quickly turns to one of confusion. He watches as her eyes flit between the two cups of tea in his left hand and the TeaTime pastry box that he is holding out to her with his right.

"What…" Jemma stares at his outstretched arm and he begins to feel slightly uncomfortable as she continues to not actually take the box from him. He decides that maybe just shoving sweets in her general direction might not have been the best approach so he instead jumps to step two.

"I'm sorry."

Jemma's eyes quickly move from the box to his face. She seems shocked by both the bluntness of the apology and the fact that he's the one doing the apologizing. She stares at him for a moment with her mouth slightly open in surprise before her eyes narrow again and she crosses her arms in front of her with a look of impassiveness.

"You'll have to be a bit more specific Fitz. What is it exactly that you're sorry for?"

A tiny part of him wants to grit his teeth at her prickly nature but he again realizes that she does have a point. He could be plausibly apologizing for a slew of things so he supposes that she does deserve to know what it is that this specific apology is meant for. "Well, starting with the most recent thing that requires an apology… I'm sorry for my behavior last Friday. I was basically pushing you into saying anything that might rile me up enough to justify starting another argument with you… and I never should have done that. You were being more than civil and I should have just waved a white flag and finished what had been… not a totally unenjoyable meal."

"I see…" Jemma purses her lips at this and there is a small flame that seems to be flickering behind her eyes. Her eyebrow twitches up and he knows exactly what it is that she's looking for.

"Also, umm… I'm sorry for calling you… what I called you. I didn't… You aren't… I shouldn't… It was uncalled for and untrue and I more than deserved that tea to the face."

Jemma, who had been nodding throughout his stuttered admission, blushes a bit at the final portion of it and turns her head to look down the street and avoid his eyes. "Yes, well… I suppose while we're apologizing for our poor behavior… I should apologize for that."

Fitz moves to motion with his hands before remembering that they're currently laden with tea and baked goods so he settles for hastily shaking his head at Jemma's words. "No, you really shouldn't. Like I said, I deserved it and… well, let's be honest. It was probably a long time coming."

Jemma's lips quirk up at this and, though it's not quite a smile, Fitz is more than happy to take it. He moves to wedge the box of goodies under his arm so that he can free his hand to grab the cup of tea with Jemma scrawled neatly on the side.

He holds it out in front of him as he speaks. "I would like to propose a tentative truce. It may not last given our track record but… At the very least it should hold out long enough for us to enjoy the tea and pastries on the walk over to SciTech."

Fitz holds his breath as he tries to get a read on Jemma and almost sighs in relief as her miniscule smile stays in place and her arm reaches forward to take the cup from his grasp. "Yes, I suppose we have managed to be civil on this walk once before… I don't see why it wouldn't be possible for it to miraculously happen again."

Fitz lets his own tentative smile bloom across his face at her easy acceptance of his olive branch. "Great! All right so it's settled. We'll be amicable for at least however long it takes us to reach our final destination."

He grabs his own tea before tossing the tray in the nearby bin and turning to begin moving along the street that runs perpendicular to the one they usually walk along to reach SciTech. He holds his breath for a moment until he hears her shout of, "Fitz!"

He turns to look at Jemma where she remains standing at the crosswalk, staring at him with what is quickly becoming her signature look of confusion. "Where are you going?"

Fitz shrugs his shoulders in response and replies with, "I dunno. I figured we could take the long way around." He hopes that she understands what he's getting at and thinks that she does when she straightens and looks at him pensively. After holding his breath for a few moments, he sighs in relief when she gives him another small smile and begins walking towards him. He grins when he hears her speak quietly as their steps sync.

"Yes I suppose we're not in any rush."

-O-

They spend the entire walk happily munching on the boxed pastries and chatting about topics that both parties feel are innocuous enough to not begin another bout of bickering.

There had been one brief moment that at the start of their journey that almost caused a small fight...

Jemma's first sip of her tea resulted in her blanching at the taste and asking Fitz if he was trying to poison her by forcing her to drink the world's worst tea. This of course set Fitz off, defensively telling her that it was Marta who had made her tea and if it's so bloody terrible she can go throw it in the poor woman's face. Naturally this reaction caused Jemma to glare at him for five seconds, tell him that she was kidding, and begin turning around to take the usual route to work.

Fitz had managed to apologize quickly and sincerely enough to convince her to keep walking with him but he'd been sure to stuff his face with as many of the small pastries as possible to prevent himself from again saying something stupid.

Now they're speaking amiably with only a small undercurrent of tension and Fitz finds that he's actually disappointed when he spots the SciTech building looming a few blocks away. He slows his pace slightly, hopefully not enough to be noticed by Jemma, and returns his focus to the woman speaking next to him.

"…utterly absurd. The differences are innumerable. I mean really, what kind of test question asks someone to name the main difference between a rock and an egg?"

Fitz lets out a laugh at this and Jemma turns to face him with a smile. "I mean, I could start listing them but…"

"Then we'd be here all day." Fitz finishes her sentence and smiles at the look of pleasant surprise that crosses her face.

By the time they finally reach SciTech both are happily walking in a companionable silence with small smiles on their respective faces. Jemma begins walking towards the entrance but Fitz lingers behind, glancing furtively at the gathered SHIELD protestors who have yet to realize his presence. "I'll uh, I'll see you tomorrow I guess?"

Jemma turns around at the sound of his voice and for a brief moment he swears she looks somewhat disappointed. He assumes it's her reacting towards the prospect of having to see him again tomorrow morning so he hastily tries to backtrack.

"I mean… I don't have to see you tomorrow. I just meant… we usually do see each other in the morning… But if that's not… If you don't… I can just leave later so we won't bump into each other…"

"No!" Fitz recoils slightly at Jemma's shout but waits for her to continue before letting himself get his hopes up. "No, don't do that. I'll definitely see you tomorrow Fitz." She gives him one last smile and pairs it with a little wave and then turns away and heads towards SciTech.

Fitz watches her walk through the doors with a grin on his face and jumps in surprise when he feels a strong hand clap him on the shoulder. He groans when he sees that it's Hunter who's standing so uncomfortably close to him.

"Boy do I know that look." The other Brit's eyes are fixed on the doors that Jemma had just entered and Fitz grits his teeth when Hunter lets out an appreciative whistle.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Fitz turns away from the entrance and slowly begins walking towards the gathered protestors. Hunter quickly catches up to him and throws an arm around Fitz's shoulders before whispering conspiratorially in his ear.

"Bloody hell mate, you couldn't be more obvious about your crush on the little lab-tech."

Fitz immediately stops moving and quickly turns towards Hunter, stepping closer to the other man and keeping his voice low so that none of the other SHIELD members overhear their conversation.

"All right, A: I do not have a crush on anyone, everyone needs to stop saying that. And B: Jemma's not just some lab-tech, she's the head of the science division."

"Jemma, eh?" Hunter smiles at him mischievously before shooting him an incredibly obvious wink. "Sure Fitz… You're not crushing on anyone."

"Seriously Hunter, I know you like to gossip more than those trashy magazines but this isn't a rumor I want you to start. Whatever crush I may or may not have is my business."

Hunter grins at this and Fitz groans at his slight slip-up. He slams a hand over the other man's mouth before Hunter starts talking and glances around quickly before hissing under his breath. "Hunter, I mean it. I really don't need anyone thinking that I'm cavorting with someone from the enemy lines when I'm not. Not now, not ever. She'd never go for me and I'd never do that to SHIELD. It'd be… It'd be a total betrayal."

"Oh Fitz, don't beat yourself up mate. Did I ever tell you about the first protest I took part in?"

Fitz shakes his head at this and Hunter looks at some unknown point in the distance with a wistful expression.

"It was eight years ago… The summer of 2007… Me and a small group of people heard about a biochem company that was responsible for the pollution of a nearby lake and decided to stage a protest outside their building. Well, the first day there I saw the most stunning creature that has ever walked the earth. I'm telling you Fitz, never in my life have I seen someone so beautiful."

"Hunter, we need to get moving so please just get to the point."

"All right, all right, jeez mate. Anyways, short story is that the aforementioned bird worked at the very institution that I was protesting. She was a member of the biochem division and I was rallying against her. We bickered for two weeks before realizing that our arguments had more to do with sexual tension than anything else. So, then we released said tension. A few times if you catch my drift…"

Hunter pauses the story long enough for him to waggle his eyebrows and Fitz to roll his eyes.

"We ended up agreeing that, despite our connection, pursuing anything would just make things more complicated for the both of us. So she focused all of her energy on her work, and I focused mine on the protest. But we were both miserable, having to see one another every day and pretend to hate each other was exhausting and just ended up making things more difficult than they would have been if we'd just been honest with ourselves and are respective 'sides' from the get go."

When he realizes that Hunter's story is in fact done, Fitz looks quizzically at the other man. "I don't… I don't fully understand your point."

"My point dear Fitz, is that the first step is admitting that you do in fact have a crush and the second step is pursuing it. Don't let yourself be lonely just because you feel guilty about who it is you want to not be lonely with."

With that parting word of advice Hunter gives Fitz another pat on the back and begins to make his way towards the gathered protestors. Fitz thinks about the other man's reveal and finds himself that much more torn about Jemma. There's no question that it was a good story but there's one more thing that Fitz wants to know. "Hey Hunter?"

"Yeah mate?" The other man turns around to face him but continues walking backwards away from Fitz.

Fitz hesitates for a moment, worried that his next question will make his still unconfirmed crush on Jemma that much more obvious. He decides to ask it anyways because he thinks, in this one instance, Hunter will keep their conversation between them. "What about the girl, what happened with you and her?"

"Who, Bobbi?"

Fitz nods his head at this, assuming that Bobbi is the girl in the story, and holds his breath in anticipation. Hunter gives him a wide grin and turns around to walk towards the gathered SHIELD members, shouting his answer over his shoulder in a manner that allows Fitz to hear the smile in his voice.

"I married her."