All characters belong to the swell people at Marvel and AoS, however, all written mistakes in this particular story are my own. Many thanks as per usual to those of you who are reading/reviewing etc. Hopefully this story will continue to be something worth taking a few minutes to glance at as more chapters are posted!

The following Monday has Fitz waking up an hour earlier than normal. Not because he's nervous to see Jemma again, that would be absurd, he's seen her every weekday for the past month and today shouldn't be any different. Despite this, he finds himself taking extra care in picking out today's clothes. He has what he thinks are two decent outfits lying on his bed and he spends an agonizing ten minutes weighing the pros and cons of each before Skye spots him while walking past his bedroom door and starts laughing.

"Oh Fitz." She shakes her head at him and pushes him away before promptly shoving the selected clothing off of the bed with a noise of disgust. She sticks her tongue out and gags as she steps over them on the way to his closet. "Don't you worry Fitz. I've got this."

He does worry. He actually worries quite a bit, pacing across the floor of his bedroom and protesting Skye's teasing that he's, "Trying to look good for nerd flirting with Simmons."

After throwing most of his clothes on the floor Skye turns to him with a smile and holds out a sky blue dress shirt tucked beneath a navy cardigan. "I don't know how many times I've told you to accentuate those baby blues, but guess what? I'm telling you again. Accentuate those baby blues Fitz."

He grabs the pieces and snatches the dark jeans that Skye tosses at him on the way to the bathroom. When he walks back out Skye wolf-whistles from her upside down position on his bed. "Looking good Fitz. If I wasn't in a serious relationship and didn't know you, I'd do you."

He outwardly grimaces at this but can't stop the small part of him from internally hoping that Jemma's reaction might be similar to his roommate's. Skye rolls over onto her stomach, propping her chin in her hands, and tilts her head while appraising him. "There's something missing…"

Fitz stands awkwardly for a few minutes, letting her work out whatever it is she thinks he's missing, and fiddles with the collar of his shirt. The motion draws Skye's attention to his hands and she's suddenly squealing in delight and running back to his closet. She returns with a tie that's the exact shade of his cardigan and wastes no time looping it around his collar and tying a perfect Windsor.

She claps her hands after securing the knot and steps back again, twirling her finger in a silent demand for Fitz to turn around. "Hmm…" She taps her finger on her cheek as her eyes roam over his figure and then reaches for his arm, carefully rolling up the sleeves until his forearm is completely visible. She grins at the sight and immediately does the same thing with his other arm, humming all the while.

He thinks he hears, "Nerd love, nerd love, I love nerd love," but doesn't have the energy to deny Skye her fun.

Once she's certain the sleeves have been rolled to the same length, Skye steps away and positively beams at him. "Perfect! Oh Fitz you look so good! This is so exciting! I feel like I've been waiting our entire friendship for this moment."

He bashfully hangs his head and lets his gaze flit towards the mirror to look at Skye's handiwork. She was right about the eyes thing. His look bluer than usual and he's sure it has to do with Skye's choice of tops. He tugs at his ear and can't stop the nervous butterflies that are trying to escape his stomach. Skye must sense his hesitancy because she loops her arm through his, staring at their reflection in the mirror, and her beam softens into an encouraging smile. "You've got this Fitz."

He nods in determination and walks towards the apartment door. He reaches for his black hi-tops but stops at Skye's, "No, no, no!" He looks at her in surprise and she nods her head towards the left, "Wear the white ones." He shrugs in acquiescence, realizing that Skye is likely smarter than him in this one particular instance. "And roll the bottom of your jeans up a bit."

Fitz glances at his watch as he follows her commands and hurries to tie his shoes. He's only got another minute before it's his usual departure time and he really doesn't want to be late today. He grabs his backpack from where it's leaning against the doorway and reaches for the door handle. As he does he catches sight of himself in the hallway mirror and yelps in horror.

"What?! What is it?!" Skye looks startled at his panicked expression and her hand is resting over her heart.

"Oh hell, I forgot to shave!"

"Oh my god Fitz. You almost gave me a heart attack! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Skye's hand has moved from her heart to her hip and she's staring at him as though he's grown two heads in the last minute.

He groans in response, rubbing at his cheeks and wondering if he has enough time to run back to the bathroom for a quick shave. "Skye this stubble is three days old! I look homeless."

"Fitz! Will you please just trust me when I tell you not to worry about it. When Jemma sees you… the last thing she'll think is that you look homeless."

"But…"

"Trust me Fitz."

He eyes her warily but all she does is suggestively move her eyebrows up and down so he takes Skye at her word and trusts that nobody will run away in disgust when they lay eyes on him.

Skye pushes him towards the door calling out a, "Go get her tiger," as he makes his way down the hall, and he holds up his middle finger as he walks away.

Fitz glances at his watch again and realizes that somehow he'd managed to be three minutes late so he takes the stairs two at a time and runs out of the apartment building in an attempt to make it to SciTech at his usual time. He all but sprints down the street, ignoring the startled glances of the people he passes, and doesn't slow to a normal gait until he's about two blocks away from SciTech.

He fidgets nervously as he waits at the crosswalk, bouncing on the balls of his feet and adjusting his tie in apprehension. He stiffens when he sees a familiar head of auburn hair appear at his side in his peripheral vision and quickly drops his hands from where they were fiddling with his collar.

"Fitz."

He smiles at the greeting, the same one they'd exchanged for weeks, that now seems to have an extra inflection that hints at a secret that only they share.

"Simmons."

His eyes glance over to her and she's staring resolutely across the street but has a small smile on her face that grows when she catches him looking at her.

"Fancy seeing you here. Accost anybody at their place of work recently?" The words themselves are accusatory but he can hear the lightness of her tone and the smile in her delivery.

"Not recently enough. Took the time to recharge over the weekend and am now more than ready to confront the questionable practices utilized by the modern scientist. What about you Simmons, ruin the lives of any adorable mice recently?"

They move together in unison as the glowing WALK sign becomes visible across the street and Jemma chuckles slightly before replying.

"Why as a matter of fact, yes. The little girl in the apartment next to mine has, had I should say, an adorable little Mus musculus that I felt was squeaking a little too much during my usual sleeping hours. Needless to say… it's been more than quiet as of late."

Fitz gives her an appalled look that has her bursting in laughter and he shakes his head in mock disgust. "How do you sleep at night?"

"Through the aid of Earl Grey and an enormous bed. How do you sleep at night Fitz?"

"Umm… same way actually." He blushes a bit at the revelation because, while this had started out as another opportunity for banter, he's only managed to uncover another thing that he and Jemma have in common.

She too pauses at this, shooting him a quick look, before facing forward again and humming in contemplation. "Really? Hmm… I guess I just assumed…"

"Assumed what?"

"I assumed that you didn't have a bed with which to sleep on…"

Fitz gives Jemma a puzzled look at this and a coy smile spreads across her face at the sight. She turns her head again, avoiding his eyes, before finishing her sentence.

"… what with you being homeless and all."

His mouth drops open at her statement and her small smile grows into a teasing smirk. There's no way that her choice of word is a coincidence and it doesn't take him long to put the pieces together.

"I'm going to kill her…"

Jemma clucks under her breath in amused admonishment. "Murder is a serious crime Fitz, you shouldn't joke about such things."

"I'm not joking. I'm going to absolutely kill her."

She laughs at this. "You're being a tad overdramatic don't you think?"

"I didn't dress up for you." He says it hastily, barely pausing between words, and stares at her in earnest. The statement may be out of left field but he needs to put it out there as soon as possible to try and counter whatever information Skye had passed along.

"What? No of course not." Jemma turns to him with what looks like a genuinely confused look on her face and for a moment Fitz mentally applauds her acting skills.

"Seriously, I'm sure Skye told you I was nervous and trying to find something presentable to wear this morning…"

"What? Fitz no…"

"… but that's only because I have plans later that require…"

"No, no, Fitz she didn't…"

"… a more put together ensemble and… wait, what? What do you mean no she didn't?"

"Skye didn't say anything about dressing up. She just asked that, should an opportunity present itself, I tell you that you look homeless." Jemma is giving him an odd look now and he internally chastises himself for once again revealing too much too soon.

"Oh… right. Yeah, yeah of course. That sounds like something Skye would do. She knew I was feeling self conscious about… the scruff thing… and was teasing me before I left this morning."

"Oh. Well there's really no need for that. Feeling self-conscious I mean. The scruff…" Jemma coughs a bit and moves her eyes forward as a slight blush covers her cheeks. "The scruff is a good look on you."

He feels his own cheeks redden as a warmth blooms across his face and his heart thumps erratically beneath Skye's selected garments. "Oh… well… thank you."

There's a bit of an awkward silence between them and he thinks he can physically feel the tension that seems to encompass them. He struggles to find something to say and sighs in relief when Jemma beats him to it.

"Well, anyways, why are you so dressed up today?"

"Sorry?"

"You said that you have plans later that required you to dress up. What is it that has gotten you to look so sharp? Other than Skye obviously… I'm sure much of this was her doing."

"Oh… I uh…" Fitz panics and mentally scolds himself for the previous lie that now requires a second to back it up. "Umm… I have a date! Yes, a date. With a person. On a date we will be. I'm sure food will be involved."

Oh god.

"Oh! I see..." Jemma's voice is soft but he can hear the disappointment as easily as he would have if she'd spoken in a megaphone.

Disappointment?

Fitz's mind rewinds the past few minutes and he is somewhat stunned to realize that they had definitely been spent with him actively flirting with Jemma. And, as ludicrous as it is, said flirting was almost certainly reciprocated on her end.

Oh, god, they had been flirting. They were successfully flirting and then he'd panicked and told her he had a date with someone else. Shit.

He hastily tries to do damage control to make his made up date seem more insignificant. "I don't actually want to go on this date…"

"Hmmm…" Jemma is nonchalant and seems to barely acknowledge both his words and his presence.

"But, you see, I haven't been on one in awhile… so I figured I should get a bit of practice in, you know? Before I attempt any sort of romantic interaction with you… know, someone I really like. Right?" He prays that Jemma hadn't caught his slip-up and prays even harder that this entire fiasco won't blow up in his face and ruin the progress he's made with her.

They stop again at a crosswalk, the one closest to SciTech, and she turns to him with a skeptical expression. "So, let me get this straight… You want to date a bunch of women… so that you can eventually date one woman?" She raises a skeptical eyebrow and Fitz knows he's busted.

"You know… when you say it like that, it sounds a little ridiculous."

"Yes Fitz… it does sound ridiculous… it also sounds entirely unbelievable."

Yup. Definitely busted.

Jemma faces forward again and Fitz takes the time to observe her profile. He turns in the same direction and moves his hand to his reddening neck. He coughs once and looks straight ahead as he speaks.

"I don't have a date."

"You don't say."

"I made it all up."

"Yes Fitz… I have two PhDs remember? I'm intelligent enough to realize that you made it all up." They're walking again, headed towards the crowd of people already gathered in front of SciTech, and he can hear the why that is silently tacked on to the end of Jemma's sentence.

He wants to tell her. He really, really, does, but he thinks it's still a bit to soon in this new dynamic of their relationship to make any professions of crushes. They're still acquaintances more than anything, one night with Skye didn't suddenly make them friends, and he doesn't think it's the time or the place to admit wanting to look nice for her.

"Hey, Simmons. Jemma?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you think… maybe just this once you can not argue with me, and just, I dunno, pretend that there doesn't have to be a reason for me to look nice? If I promise to tell you about it later?"

Jemma looks at him speculatively, caramel eyes boring into his own, and he thinks she's sizing him up, deciding how best to approach his request. Whatever she sees when she looks at him seems to make the decision for her because after a long moment she resumes walking and he falls into step beside her. "Okay Fitz."

Once they're twenty feet away from the SciTech entrance she speaks again, so softly that he has to physically tilt his head closer to hear.

"Hey Fitz?"

"Yeah?"

"You always look nice."

He stops and lets a tentative smile break out over his face and watches as she mirrors the action. They're grinning at each other and he feels a warmth flood through him until his eyes flit over Jemma's shoulder and he notices Mack staring at them. The warmth dissipates immediately and he straightens his back at the harsh reminder of whom exactly it is that he's dopily smiling at.

Jemma seems to pick up on his sudden shift in mood and glances towards the group of protestors that are eyeing them warily. She sighs softly and her smile turns a bit melancholy before disappearing completely.

"The real world awaits I suppose. See you when I see you Fitz." She turns and walks away from him, passing the protestors that are now audibly shaming her and her lab practices, and walks through the doors of SciTech without a backwards glance.

Fitz sighs in disappointment and mourns the wasted effort that was put into his appearance. He trudges closer to the SHIELD group and hoists one of the signs to begin another day of protesting. He doesn't notice Mack approach him until the other man is directly beside him.

"You and her… that's not going to work out man, you know that right?"

Fitz glances back at the SciTech doors that Jemma had disappeared through before taking in the angry faces of the people gathered for the rally. The disappointment inside him grows and he finds himself sighing once more at the screwed up predicament he's found himself in.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know."