Author's Note- I'm not going to lie. That first episode of the season knocked me for a loop. Oh my! I felt the need to treat myself to some up-lifting, heart-warming FitzSimmons moments. Don't we all deserve some?
Ch. 22
Fandral was handsome.
Fandral was dashing.
Fandral was flattering.
Fandral was . . . . boring.
Jemma sighed slightly as she suffered through yet another rendition of Fandral's ode to her eyes. She tried to give him a smile, but it came out more like a grimace. She idly wondered how many times the same tired poem had been reworked for other women. She tensed when he went on about the "azure pools of her soul". Her eyes were hazel, not blue. He hadn't even bothered to look at her eyes before launching into the tiresome sonnet.
She blamed Fitz for her predicament. In the past, she had numerous flirtations based on physical attraction. Her cheeks warmed as she remembered her visceral reaction to examining Mike Peterson, for example. And so, she should have been able to just let her mind go and enjoy her time with Fandral, soaking in his compliments, admiring his handsome physique.
But Fitz's crack about the Chitauri illness had put Jemma on edge. She mentally calculated Fandral's age and the amount of women he had been with. And while she was fairly sure she wouldn't come down with the Asgardian version of mono if they kissed, she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. She had studied enough epidemiology to be wary of the chance of getting infected with some horrid disease that had no effective cure for "mortals".
Fandral took her coyness for "playing hard to get" and seemed more determined than ever to win her over. But to Jemma, he seemed to be going through the motions, just playing a part. His heart didn't seem into it and he seemed almost distracted.
"Where are you, my love?" Fandral said, as he caught her wool-gathering.
"Um . . . ., just thinking about Skye. Sorry, it's just that I worry about her. My expertise in labor and delivery is limited and the healers haven't ever had to deal with a human before."
"Half-human," Fandral said. "But you're right. The fact that she is half-Jotun is even worse, I suppose. The healers have no past examples to draw experience from."
Jemma nodded briskly. "Well, I should get going. I told Fitz I'd meet him in the library."
"Every moment without you will be an eternity," Fandral declared, leaning down to kiss her hand.
Jemma gave him a bright, fake smile. "Right back at you," she lied unconvincingly.
As she left the courtyard, she shook her head. It was all Fitz's fault. Before, having a romance based solely on mutual attraction had been enough, because let's face it, there wasn't anyone who could keep up with her mentally. Except for Fitz. Jemma shook her head. He'd never showed the slightest inkling that he was interested in anything more than friendship. Which was fine, she supposed. What they had was good. It was strong. Romance would come and go, but someone like Fitz, that was someone you had with you your entire life.
000000
Fitz was tugging on his Asgardian leather tunic when Jemma entered the main library. She couldn't help but grin. He, like Coulson, hated the Asgardian clothes and couldn't wait until they were back and he could go back to his standard uniform of a button-down shirt and tie.
"Hi," she said as she entered and his head snapped up and he began to blush.
"Hi," he said and she could tell he was nervous from the way he was fidgeting a bit.
"So, what are we going to investigate?" she asked brightly. The main library had thousands of books and it was always a bit of a challenge to find the right volume.
"Actually . . . you haven't eaten yet, have you? Only, I know that you were with Fandral and I thought you two might have . . . .," he trailed off, looking anxious again.
"No, actually I haven't. Should we go to the kitchens and get some supper before we start?" she asked.
"No!" he nearly shouted. Then, he calmed a bit. "No, I've got something planned. Could you . . . could you follow me?"
"Alright," she said dubiously and followed him down a series of twisting corridors to a door that led to the gardens. He opened the door for her and followed her outside.
Jemma nearly gasped. The formal garden was bathed in moon-light and there were row upon row of blooming flowers in a riot of gorgeous colors.
"I. . . I talked to the head gardener. He said that this is called the 'Moon-light Garden'. All the flowers here only bloom at night," he said. "I remember how much you said you enjoyed gardening with your mum back home."
"Oh, Leo, it's . . . . it's beautiful," Jemma said.
"Um . . . come on. I want to show you something else," he said and took her hand and led her along a path lined with hedges of sweet-smelling delicate pink blooms.
When they came to clearing, Jemma gasped. Laid out on a blanket was a feast of every single food she had come to love on Asgard. There was roasted pheasant and root vegetables in shades of blue and purple. There were at least five different types of cheeses and hard crusty bread. There were green and yellow berries that exploded in flavor in your mouth. But the best was an enormous honey cake filled with thick sweetened cream. Jemma had had dreams about that cake. Many dreams.
"Leo, this is simply amazing," she said as she sank down on her knees onto the blanket and he settled next to her. "Thank you so much."
"There's something . . . there's something I've been meaning to tell you," he said.
"Yes?"
"Jemma, I know you and Fandral have been spending a lot of time together, but you deserve more than to be someone's latest conquest. You deserve to be their only love."
"Their only love? Leo, what are you saying?" she asked, head cocked to the side.
"You've been there the whole time . . . years to tell the truth and I never noticed . . . I never let myself notice. You're more than a friend, Jemma. You're my everything."
"Leo?" she breathed, understanding dawning on her.
"Jemma, I may not have a thousand years of practice sweeping women off of their feet, but please know that this comes from my heart. I love you. I've loved you for so very long that I don't know when I started loving you."
"Oh, Leo," Jemma said.
"I know I'm not suave or dashing or . . ." Leo began, looking down nervously at his hands.
"Oh, do shut up," Jemma said, as she grabbed him and kissed him.
Author's Note- I hope you enjoyed it. As I said, that last episode kind of gutted me and I needed some happy FitzSimmons feels to get over it.
