Disclaimer I do not own M.a.o.s

AN sorry for the delay, but life happens, won't bore you with the details, here's a little chapter for all you Fitzsimmons shippers, as always big thanks to my beta reader Cassandra s fisher

Chapter 25

Fitz took a deep breath as he prepared to enter the lab where Jemma was working. Fitz slowly reached for the handle of the door and opened it. Jemma looked up from what she was doing.

"Oh, hello Fitz,"

"Hey Jemma. Listen we need to talk and sort out whatever...this is."

"You have been talking to Ward, I take it?"

"Yes."

"I don't even know where to begin Fitz, I mean things are so complicated now and I just…"

"Look Jemma, the longer we push this off the harder it's going to get, and the more we will drift apart,"

"What do you want to hear Fitz?"

"The truth."

"And what if the truth hurts?"

"Please Jemma, just this once, I'm tired of being lied to and I don't know how much longer I can handle this growing rift between us... So please..."

Jemma remained silent.

"Well if you're not going to talk then I will, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever met, I remember the first day we meet at the academy, at first I was jealous that you could best me with your knowledge of science, but I soon got over that when I learned how sweet, caring, polite and enthusiastic you were. We soon formed a strong friendship and I think my crush on you started not long after that, but I was scared to ever ask you out on a date, both because of my shyness and fear that it would ruin our friendship if you didn't feel the same way. So I was content enough to stay your friend, and then we were assigned to the same team, and I found myself falling for you more and more everyday."

Leo shifted his weight between his feet. He needed to get this all out so she knew the truth.

"Then the whole Hydra fiasco happened, and I couldn't bare to see you die, so I decided to sacrifice myself, and I figured since I was going to die anyways I might as well tell you my feelings, and now here we are months later, I can assure you my feelings for you haven't changed, but I'm not who I use to be, I'm not as smart, or has high-functioning, I continue to struggle everyday. I just feel like a burden, not just to you but the rest of the team as well. I want whatever... this is to stop even if it means just being friends, but if you don't want to be I'll understand. I'll leave, I will go work in the garage with Mac, I will stay out of your way, we'll only have to interact on missions."

He turned to go.

"Fitz." the reply came out choked.

He turned around, and saw tears streaming down her face.

"You are not a burden, and I mean that, the team needs you, I need you. You are my friend, my best friend and I don't want to lose you. I know you don't like help, but it pains me to see you struggling, while I stand by and do nothing. When we were trapped in that pod, there were so many things going on, so much chaos and when you admitted your feelings for me, for was just so overwhelming and I did not know how to react. I had never seen you as more than A friend, but when I saw you lying in that coma, I realized how much you meant to me, and I knew I would not survive if I lost you. I'm still not sure I feel the same way about you, but I do care an awful lot about you, and I am willing to take a chance and see where this new relationship could lead us, and maybe one day once all this craziness is sorted out I can tell you how I really feel, perhaps we are meant to be together, perhaps."

It was all that Fitz needed to hear, before he was running across the room and embracing her in a hug, before kissing her bringing his hand up to cradle her head. And she kissed him back, it was a sweet and loving kiss which they finally broke apart for air.

"Thank you Jemma," Fitz said as he held her in an embrace. "Thank you."

"Oh Fitz, you gonna make me cry," she mumbled into his chest.

"Come on then." He pulled away and extended his hand which she grasped with her own

"Let's go watch that new planet of the apes movie, which will be nowhere near as good as the original, but I am sure it will still be good."

"Oh Fitz..." Simmons giggled

They walked hand in hand to the comfy foyer to begin the movie.