Naively, Fitz had thought the hard part was behind him. He'd been through four years of SHIELD academy, finished top of all his classes except the ones he had in common with Jemma and even survived that month he had to work with a cadet from Sci-Ops. But he had completely underestimated how ridiculously complicated SHIELD bureaucracy could be. Of course, if he was completely honest, he had relied on Jemma a bit too much for these things in the past years but really, it was already complicated when he could talk face to face with those people but when he had to do everything by e-mail or worse on the phone, it was an absolute nightmare.

But after hours of refraining himself from screaming, he had finally managed to set everything in order for Jemma and him. Now the only thing left to do was arrange for someone to be there on their behalf at the graduation ceremony and of course officially sign their contract ... provided that Jemma wouldn't change her mind now that her situation was much different from when they'd first received the job offer.

Looking for professor Weaver's name in his contact list, he was about to hit the call button when Jemma entered the room. He'd gotten used to work in the drawing room since they arrived in Sheffield ten days ago because it was quiet and comfy, but also because it was where Jemma used to work when she was a teenager and it was still full of her science equipment. For Fitz it felt a bit weird. When he was a teenager if he wanted to work in peace, he had to go to his own small and messy room or to the makeshift lab he had created in the basement, which he had to share with the water heater, the washing machine and really anything his mom couldn't store anywhere else.

"Do you have a moment to talk?" Jemma asked with a small smile, wringing her hands nervously in front of her.

"Oh ...hum yeah ... yes of course ..." He answered, closing his laptop and trying not to convey how her nervousness made him nervous. Whatever she had to say, it looked like it wouldn't be good.

"Great ... thank you!" She said with that same nervous smile as she took the seat closest to him at the small round table. "So hum ... I talked to Amy and we've decided what we were going to do next year and well ... the years to come."

"Ok ..." Fitz said, tilting his head to the side, encouraging her to continue.

"We want to stay together but hum ... well she knows how important my work and my life in the US are so she's willing to come with me. I've talked with a few people at SHIELD and they said they could help me find a high school for her. Of course she'd need to take a few extra classes 'cause she'll be a bit behind on some classes and quite a bit ahead on some others but ... well we think she can do it ..." Jemma finished and Fitz let go of the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Of course, he would help her in any way he could but at this moment, the only thing that really imprinted on his mind was that she would stay in the US, in SHIELD and they would keep working and seing each other every day.

"Oh that's ... yeah-that's really good Jemma and you know I'll help you anyway I can right?" He answered, taking her hand and squeezing it lightly as he gave her a warm smile.

"I know Fitz but ... it also means that things are going to be a little different for us as well and I'm so sorry ..." She started and he furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Oh ..."

"Well yeah ... money's going to be a bit tighter than planned and of course there'll be so much to take care of here so I'll have to cancel our vacations Fitz ..."

"Oh that!" He breathed out in relief. "Honestly from the moment you got the news, it was obvious to me that we wouldn't be able to make it and that's perfectly fine ..."

"But you've been waiting for it for so long, I've never seen you so excited about anything since we visited Stark labs ..."

"Of course Jemma!' He cut her off. "But those are special circumstances and you're more important than a road trip ... or even a visit to Stark labs!" He added and she let out a small laugh as she squeezed his hand between both of hers.

"Oh Fitz ..." She let out with a warm smile before it fell from her face again. "I'm so sorry to let you down like that ... with our holidays and the flat and ..."

"What? What about the flat?" He asked in complete confusion.

"Well I told you Amy's going to come and live with me ..."

"Yeah ..."

"... So that means you're going to have to look for a flat ..."

"Yeah ... well that's what we had planned anyway ..."

He was getting more and more confused by the minute.

"No Fitz I mean on your own ..."

"Oh ..." He simply let out, his back falling against the armchair, taking his hand away from hers. As much as he tried to compose himself again quickly so she wouldn't see the hurt on his face, he obviously failed because when she spoke again, her voice was wobbly and sounded like she was close to tears.

"Fitz I'm so sorry, I wish things were different it's just ..."

"No no I get it Amy doesn't want to live with a man she barely knows, she wants to be with her sister ..." He cut her off, trying his best to put a smile on his face, even though he knew his disappointment was still visible in his eyes. He couldn't blame her for that situation and for doing what was best for her sister obviously, but that didn't mean he wasn't sad at the idea that he wouldn't be living with his best friend when they had planned this for years.

"What? No Fitz you know Amy loves you!" Jemma cut him off.

"Then what? I don't mean to trouble you even more it's just ... I don't understand." He said with the softest voice he could muster as he leaned on the armrest to get closer to her.

"It's just ... I can't ask you that Fitz ... We were finally adults in this country, we were going to have our first flat, paid with our own money and without having to follow any rules but our own ..." And almost against his own will, Fitz smiled a bit at that because of course Jemma would want to create rules when there were no one else's to follow. "... you don't want to live with a teenager, it would be like living in a dorm room all over again ..." She finished and he breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Oh ... but I don't see that I have a choice here ..." He answered and she was the one to look at him in confusion, her nose adorably scrunched up, which brought a small smile to his face. "Obviously you need to live with Amy and I have to live with you because I don't think I can live without you. So unless either of you prefer not to live with me, which I'd understand, then you're stuck with me!" He finished, crossing his arms over his chest in a way that seemed to mean it was final.

"You can't live without me?" She repeated after a moment of stunned silence and her tone was equal part fond and teasing.

"Well ... maybe it's a bit of an exaggeration but let's be honest if you're not here to tell me to eat vegetables, I will regress to junk food and probably end up getting scurvy or something!" He answered and she laughed out loud. "And also I'd miss you way too much ..." He added more quietly.

"Oh Fitz ..." She let out one more time and stood up to come sit next to him to give him a side hug. The armchair was big and they were both quite small but she still had to put her legs across his lap. The sudden and unexpected closeness made his breath hitch. He was getting used to the hugs, the occasional head on his shoulder or hand holding when either of them needed support but that was something else. Not that it wasn't nice, just very unusual. So he tried his best to relax so she wouldn't think she was making him uncomfortable. In any normal situation he would have suffered through anything for his best friend, but these days, her comfort and happiness was his number one priority even if it meant pushing the boundaries of his precious personal space.

"You know I'd miss you too right? But are you really sure you want to do that? That's not what we had planned and it's going to be much more complicated. We might have to live further from Sci-Ops to find a place big enough and then even if I do my best to take care of everything it's still ..."

"Jemma stop!" He cried out loud enough for her to stop her rambling. "The only thing you should be worrying about is do you and Amy want to live with me?"

"Yes ... yes I do Fitz, of course I do!" She answered with a smile after looking at his face for any sign of hesitation that contradicted his words and didn't find any.

"Then it's settled, with both our income I'm sure we'll have no trouble finding a nice place to live for the three of us and I'll get to discover all those stuff siblings are supposed to do together and of course ... your legendary Sunday brunch!" He finished with a wide grin and he was rewarded with ... Jemma bursting to tears.

Which was definitely not what he expected.

"Oh no Jemma what ..." He started but she cut him off quickly.

"God I'm so-sorry for getting so emotional it's just ... I-you ... thank you for making things so easy for me Fitz!" She said, smiling through her tears and burying her face in the crook of his neck. "I know I'm a wreck right now but I'll make it up to you, I will!"

"You don't have to Jemma, that's what best friends are for ..." He answered, tentatively putting his arm around her shoulders. "... as long as we agree on Sunday brunch!" He added more quietly as he turned to speak almost directly into her ear like it was some sort of secret and she chuckled.

"Deal!"

"Fitz?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"Mmmhmm?"

"I've completely invaded your personal space. Haven't I?" She almost whispered like she was afraid to break the spell of this nice quiet moment.

"Yeah ... a bit I guess ..." He answered just as softly with a low chuckle. Of course that was quite an understatement. As she hugged him even tighter, she ended up sitting fully on his lap with her face still nestled in the crook of his neck. He also realized that his arms had slid a little lower and he was holding her around the waist.

"And doesn't that bother you?" She asked, her tone slightly playful. She knew perfectly well how physical contact could make him uncomfortable.

"Na 's fine ..." He let out after a moment's hesitation. "I know how hard it is for you to keep your hands off me!" He added, with more bravado than he actually felt and she swatted his arm playfully all without moving away from him.

"Well I have to admit you're quite comfy ..."

"Oh so is that all I am to you? Some sort of living armchair?" He asked in fake hurt.

"Of course no ... you're also really good for fixing broken things and preparing excellent tea ..." She answered and he rolled his eyes. He would have pushed her away to show his fake annoyance but he had to admit it was quite comfortable for him as well. Jemma wasn't very heavy and she was warm and always smelt nice. And even if his shyness always made physical contact a bit awkward for him, it didn't mean that he couldn't appreciate such a pure and sweet display of affection.

"Fitz I've noticed something ..." Jemma added, her tone still a little playful.

"I swear it's just my phone Jemma ..." He grinned.

"What are ... urgh Fitz!" She cried out and he burst out laughing.

After silencing him with a roll of her eye and a glare that would have been more intimidating if she wasn't still snuggled up against him, she added: "No what I meant to say was that I noticed how you've been calling me Jemma instead of Simmons a lot more recently ..."

"Oh ... yeah I guess now that you mention it ... does that-hum-does that bother you?" he answered, blushing a bit.

"Of course not!" She answered with a fond smile. "We started that whole calling ourselves by our family name thing because we thought it would make us look older and more professional but I don't think we need that anymore, do you?"

"No ... I guess not ..."

"So I was thinking ... since you're going to live with two Simmonses now, it would only make sense that you keep calling me Jemma or it might get confusing!"

"Oh yeah ... makes sense!" He answered, finally understanding what she was getting at. "As long you all remember that I hate my first name and we should all keep calling me Fitz and my mother is still the only person allowed to call me Leo ... mostly because she wouldn't call me anything else anyway!" He finished with a small eye roll and she laughed.

"Of course Fitz ... I'll add that to our roommate agreement ..." She answered with a small grin.

"Oh God you were serious when you mentioned a roommate agreement, weren't you?"

"Of course I was, it makes perfect sense Fitz!"

"Sure I should have known ... No one loves rules as much as you do ... Is it too late to change my mind about living with you?" He teased and she gave him a playful punch in the shoulder and hugged him again even tighter than before before he had the time to react.

"Yep ... you're stuck with me Fitz!"

So this was the reason I started writing this story. I've seen quite a few nice stories about FitzSimmons raising a baby together as friends for many different reasons and I thought it'd be interesting to see them "raise" a teenager together and have to deal with all the troubles it could bring.
I didn't want to spend too much time on the actual funeral and quickly skip to the repercussions of this event in the weeks and months to come. And that's why I barely introduced Amy until now. I wanted this first part to be mostly about just Fitz and Simmons and their friendship before the nice life they had planned together is turned upside. So you can still expect some sadness and angst but there will also be a lot of fluff, some fun siblings bonding and shenanigans and of course some romance !