hello everyone!
well, i'm back (again), who's suprised? certainly not me. I was supposed to focus on my main fic, which I've been writing for the past month, but I couldn't get this idea out of my head and decided to give it a go.
This work follows "And a Very Happy 30-ish(?) Birthday" and "Double the Troubles".
as always, thanks so much to cyan & nick for helping me with this series' multiple headcanons. and thanks also to olivia on twitter for allowing me to squeeze in her adorable hc for alya's hairstyles, too!
this work is a follow up to the previous two in the series. I don't think it's mandatory to read the rest, but it's better to understand a few things.
english isn't my first language and this work is unbeta'd, so... sorry about all my mistakes! also, i do not have children, and I hope I depicted them well enough to be believable.
(title is from Kaleo's "I want more", and I personally headcanon fitz dancing with his kids to that song while making jemma pancakes in the morning, bye)
don't hesitate to let me know if you liked it! xx
Fitz was knackered. In his entire life, he didn't remember ever being this exhausted. But ironically -or not, really- he didn't remember being this happy before, either.
"Are you sure you've got this?" he asked Alya for the third time in five minutes, hands tightening on the fussy baby against his chest. The look his five years old gave him almost made him roll his eyes before he caught himself. There were a few things he'd had to learn not to do since he'd had children, and rolling his eyes or cursing in front of them were but a few examples. Jemma would kill him if she came home to Alya rolling her eyes at everything and nothing.
"Yes, daddy. I know how to shower alone now!" Alya said, a proud smile lightening her little face as she took off her flowered shirt, letting it fall on the floor next to the bathtub.
Fitz very much doubted that, but he'd learned not to voice his concerns when it came to Alya. She was very much like her mum when she wanted to, and she took every doubt as a personal offense -or a challenge. Either way, now was not the time to test that theory. At the same time, Aurora whimpered against Fitz's neck, and he felt his heart squeeze uncomfortably in his chest. Her little cheeks were burning up, flushed pink with pain, and he could feel her drool soak through his shirt and cling to his skin. Teething babies meant a lot of tears and all nighters, but more importantly, Fitz hated seeing his children in pain. No matter how natural that pain was.
"There, darlin'" he cooed, using the cold teething ring he'd retrieved from the fridge to rub against her swollen gums. "I know it hurts, baby."
Aurora only whimpered louder in response, turning her head the opposite direction. Fitz sighed. It was a little frightening, sometimes, to see how different the twins were. At only 8 months old, Aurora was very pig headed and active already, as opposed to James' quiet temper.
When Fitz had been worried about having a boy - "But I don't know how to handle a boy, Jemma? What if I end up just like my own dad with him?" to which she'd replied "You could never be like your father, Fitz" - all worries had been lost the first time he'd gazed upon his son's face and met his baby blue eyes. Aurora and James grew up to be carbon copies of Jemma, something that his mum found absolutely hilarious. Jemma liked to joke about how he'd ran out of ink after Alya, and secretly, Fitz loved how much the twins looked like the love of his life. But there was no denying the fact that the twins were as opposed in character as they could, and Aurora was a perfect mix of both their worst tempers mixed together when she wanted to be.
"Come on, baby girl" he insisted, knowing it was a lost cause. "It'll feel better if you let me help."
But Rory didn't want to hear it, and after trying a third time and nearly getting head butted in the chin, Fitz sighed in defeat.
"She doesn't want to," Alya pointed out, her little arms crossed over her naked chest.
She was now standing entirely naked in front of the tub, clothes pooling at her feet, and Fitz huffed a laugh.
"Thanks for pointing it out, monkey." He secured Aurora against his chest, putting the teething ring away to be able to check the temperature of the bath with his hand, as if he hadn't done it twice already. Alya pursed her lips at the gesture, and Fitz wanted to kiss her little nose so badly. She was such a Simmons. "Alright, do you need help to hop on?"
"No daddy, I've got this."
Fitz still hovered worriedly as she climbed in the bath, only allowing himself to breathe correctly when she was seated, already reaching for the mount of bubbles going up to her chest. Fitz propped his hip against the double vanity sink, rocking Aurora slightly as he looked down at Alya and the bubble hat she was making for herself.
"When is mama coming back?" Alya eventually asked after a few minutes, Rory's cries listening slightly as Fitz massaged her gums with his fingers. Baby spit soaked his finger down his wrist, and Fitz thought about a time when younger him would have been completely disgusted at the mere idea. Now, he wasn't even phased anymore.
Fitz chuckled. "Why, are you getting tired of me yet?"
"I didn't say that," Alya said with a frown. "I miss her a little bit." She admitted with a defeated sigh.
"I know baby, I'm just teasing, I miss her too. She's coming back tomorrow afternoon, which means one more sleep before she's there."
After a lot of hesitation and second guessing, Jemma had agreed to consult for SHIELD and most specifically for Mack, under the promise of her staying safe in their lab in Boston during the entire process. It was a quick process, something that would see her back in three days tops, and worked perfectly well with Fitz's scheduled classes. She'd been a little reticent to let the kids alone with Fitz, especially knowing that James and Rory were teething and they'd spent the last week barely sleeping a handful of hours, but he'd finally convinced her to go. He knew she missed being in a lab sometimes, no matter how much she loved her children and their life here. And knowing that she would be safe in the lab and back in no time had helped her decision, too.
"Do you think I could draw her a picture?" Alya asked again, little eyes shining with interest. "For when she comes back?"
Fitz smiled. "I think she would love that, monkey. Maybe you could do that tomorrow morning?"
A small cry echoed through the baby monitor, and Fitz sighed. James had fallen asleep after his last bottle, which had been a small blessing for Fitz and his only two hands. Especially since Alya had set her mind on taking a bubble bath, and Rory had refused to get down like her brother and had been glued to his chest for two hours now.
"Alright monkey, I'm gonna go get Jamie okay? You stay right here, and you scream if anything happens."
Alya sighed. "I'm not gonna scream daddy. I'm almost six. I can take a bath alone."
Fitz wanted to argue, tell her that a lot of things could happen and she would still be his little girl for a long, long time. He wanted to tell her to stop growing up so fast, too, because his chest constricted at the idea of her going to middle school oh so soon. But Fitz bit the inside of his lips not to say any of this, simply lowering Rory down in the maxi-cosi he'd taken to the bathroom, at a reasonable distance from her sister but still in her line of sight. Aurora didn't seem to like the change of place and immediately started crying, little feet kicking the air in anger. Fitz made sure she was fastened, kissing the top of her head, before getting up.
"I'll be back in two seconds, alright? You girls be good."
He found James standing against the bars of his crib, lower lip shaking as he sobbed for his arms. Fitz was once again hit by how fast his children grew up, as it wasn't rare for him or Jemma now to find the twins standing up against the furniture around the house. Soon enough, they would be walking around the house on their own and driving them as mad as Alya did when she started exploring the Zephyr on her own.
"Hey there Jamie" he said as he scooped him up, James' cries immediately stopping as he clenched his tiny fists in the fabric of his shirt. There were damp spots of drool on it, and he was pretty sure he could see some prenatal milk stains as well, but Fitz was never ashamed of showing off his dirty shirts, even in public. Daisy had told him, not so long ago, that he was made to be a dad. As he cradled his son close, walking towards the bathroom, Fitz thought she might be right. Apart from science, there weren't many things that made him feel as happy and content besides his children. He would take sleepless nights and frustrated cries over a day in a lab, too.
When he walked inside the bathroom, Fitz was greeted by the sight of his eldest daughter talking about the stars, kneeling to be able to see Rory from where she was. Rory's cries had listened, and she was now staring at her sister with wide eyes, munching on her chubby fingers.
"I think she wants you to let her wander off" Alya pointed out when Rory wriggled in the maxi-cosi, whining loudly. "Do you think they could join me in the bath?"
The idea of bathing two babies on top of Alya made Fitz's heart race. "I think those two are gonna wait until mama comes home for a bath, uh?"
Lowering James down on the floor, Fitz made sure he was seated comfortably before freeing his sister from her restraints, chuckling when she crawled towards James immediately. Those two had been inseparable from the moment they were born, sometimes even refusing to sleep when they weren't lowered in the same crib at first. It had been only after a few months that they'd been able to separate them for the night. For a moment, Fitz lost himself in contemplating the scene in front of him. The sounds of babies' babbles and Alya's bath were almost soothing, and Fitz felt his heart grow ten sizes too big for his chest when he thought about how lucky he was. Jemma and him had lived through a lot of bad moments when they were in SHIELD, but they both knew they'd do it all over again if it brought them here.
"Daddy?" Alya asked, tearing him from his contemplation. "Can you wash my hair?"
Jumping to his feet, Fitz grabbed the washclothe, plunging it into the bath to get it soaked. "Certainly, missy."
Alya giggled at that, throwing her head back for him to soak her hair. She'd grown her hair out since they'd moved to Perthshire, watching with envy as most of the little girls got theirs in ponytails or other stylish hairstyles. It was how Fitz found himself watching youtube tutorials at night, much to Jemma's hilarity, to be able to learn how to do his little girl's hair properly. She'd even snapped a few pictures of him sitting on the couch with Alya between his legs as he did her hair one night, sending it to the SHIELD group chat and going as far as setting it as their profile pictures for weeks.
"Tickles" Alya whispered when he rubbed some shampoo in her hair, playfully rubbing all the places that made her giggle.
"Oh I know, that's why I'm doing it!"
Her giggles seemed to pick the twin's curiosity, and one look thrown above his shoulder made Fitz realize that they'd crawled right up to the bathtub.
"Well well, look who decided to join the party!" he said, exchanging an amused glance with Alya.
"Daddy, daddy! Can you help them up?" Alya asked excitedly. "They can grab the side of the tub!"
James seemed to agree with his sister, little chubby fingers extending towards the edge of the tub in frustration. Fitz chuckled. "Okay little man, I've got you."
Gently, Fitz helped both the twins get on their feet, marvelling in the way they grabbed the bathtub for dear life. They already seemed surprisingly steady on their feet for 8 months old children, something that didn't surprise their dad in the slightest. Alya had taken her first steps at 11 months old, and it looked like her siblings would take the same exact road very soon.
Once the twins were standing in front of the tub, Fitz couldn't help but snort a laugh when he sat back on his heels, looking at the picture they offered. Alya had plunged her entire head into the water to get rid of the last remains of shampoo in her hair, and she was now glistening with droplets. Both James and Aurora seemed to find it fascinating, Rory going as far as extending a hand towards her sister to catch some of them. From where Fitz sat, the picture was almost comical, especially since the twins were only wearing (matching) diapers.
"Hey Alya?" he asked, reaching for the phone he'd left next to the sink. "What do you say, do we send mama a picture?"
"Yes!" the little girl shrieked, excited. She wiped some water away from her face, and settled down in her previous position.
When Fitz raised his camera, he could see Alya smile widely at him from between her siblings' heads. Both of the babies were still fascinated by the water, James going as far as pushing up to his tiptoes to try to plunge his hand in the bubble bath when Rory's fingers followed the shape of Alya's shoulder.
"And… smile!"
He snapped a couple of pictures, loving the both of them immediately. He wasted no time in opening his messages to send Jemma the picture, captioning it "we miss you" before pressing send. He wondered, as he put his phone down on the bathroom floor and closed the space between him and the tub to press a kiss against both of the twins' tiny heads, if Jemma enjoyed being in the lab as much as she did before. He'd been back in a lab himself with his students several times before now, but somehow the excitation was nothing compared to the rush of adrenaline and pure love he got when he came home to his family. Before he could wonder further on the question, his phone pinged.
"I miss you too" the message read, accompanied with a photo of Jemma pouting at the camera. Fitz could see the lab coat she was wearing, and for a moment he was thrown back to a time they'd worked closely side by side on the bus, so long ago. They'd been different people back then, but somehow, their path had always seemed clear. "I cannot wait to be home with you my loves."
Later that night, when Fitz had managed to put the twins to bed and gotten Alya to stop reading her favorite astronomy book for the second time in a day to go to sleep, he called Jemma and told her all about the day he'd spent. Then he listened to her talk about the lab, about Mack and Elena and the new team of agents. And along the way, as he half dozed off while telling his wife about how they'd have to buy more diapers when she came home, Fitz realized he was probably the happiest man alive.
You can follow me on twitter if you want, /keptionzebrig or my fanfiction related account /phlebotinxm! xx