The few weeks following their dinner and extremely confusing kiss were pretty awkward to say the least. Fitz had thought that spending Christmas week apart would help them get over it, focus on the small part of their life that didn't involve each other and start fresh on new year's eve. Problem was that during the week he always spent with his mum around Christmas, except for the few hours spent fixing every electric or electronic appliance in the house -with time, his mum learned that nothing was unfixable with a son like Leo Fitz-, Fitz didn't have much to do. Lorna Fitz always insisted that he looked too tired and too skinny -even when he'd actually gained a few pounds thanks to his training program- and he should just take this opportunity to eat more and pretty much do nothing. So it resulted in Fitz basically spending the better part of a week recreating the events of that night in his head and trying to make sense of them.

When Jemma kissed him, it had been so surprising that his mind had gone from full panic to complete awe in a matter of seconds when he realized how fantastic it felt. He'd be lying if he said he never thought about it before. After all, they met back when they were sixteen. He was terribly shy, never had a real friend or even kissed a girl on the cheek before. So when he befriended incredibly smart, sweet and pretty Jemma Simmons, his treacherous teenage hormone fueled mind had strayed towards not completely platonic thoughts a few times. But then they'd become not only friends but best friends, Jemma had started dating and he's had a few girlfriends/dalliances of his own and these thoughts became a rarity. He thought about it more as a concept, something that crossed his mind every once in a while when someone suggested they were or should be a couple but not something tangible that could actually happen. Just like when they talked about space and wondered if they'd join a mission to Mars or any other planet if they were given the opportunity.

So when Jemma pressed her lips against his and threaded her fingers into his curls, it's been like they were suddenly given a call from NASA asking them to embark on the next shuttle to outer space. And after a few minutes of feeling her so close to him, of hearing her small pleasured noises and getting a taste of her soft lips, Fitz realized that it was not only very tangible but better than any of his teenage boy dreams or fantasies and he was ready to enroll into astronaut training if it meant getting to do that with her on a regular basis.

But then Jemma had broken the kiss just as it seemed to turn a little more heated and it felt like receiving a bucket full of ice cold water in the face. She seemed horrified and insisted that it was a terrible mistake and even though some part of his brain somehow knew she was probably right and they couldn't risk their precious friendship and work relationship, other parts just couldn't get over how right kissing her had felt. Still, realizing that Jemma might have been a bit more drunk than she liked to admit and still confused about everything that had happened in her life in the past year, Fitz just decided to just accept her explanation and that it was all a big mistake and not evoke the possibility that maybe it meant something.

But when they met for new year's eve and even after their tearful promise at the airport that things would be fine between them, things were still pretty awkward. They were talking to each other rather normally, which was an improvement compared to the tense silence of the morning after, but it seemed that physical contact was now a problem. Most of the time, they were just avoiding it completely, seating ridiculously far away from each other on the couch and taking extra care to not even graze each other's hand by accident. And when they forgot their self imposed restraint, like when they hugged as they wished each other a happy new year, they separated too rapidly, blushing and looking away from each other. It broke Fitz's heart a bit every time because he feared that they would never go back to that easy closeness they developed over the years and that he never shared with anyone else and in the same time, it was a painful reminder of that night and how he would never again feel something so good and pure and intense, however short it was.

From the way Amy kept rolling her eyes at both of them every time it happened in her presence, Fitz was pretty sure Jemma told her about their kiss. So he figured he should be grateful to her for not doing more than that and thus not make things even more awkward, although, she was probably not so silent about it when it was only her and Jemma. He also supposed it helped that it wasn't just the two of them like it's been almost every year since they met but in the end, it's when they went back to work that things really got better and gradually almost back to normal.

After almost two weeks away from SHIELD, they found themselves drowning under the amount of work they had to catch up on and when they went home late almost every night, they were too tired to overthink things like Jemma putting her head on his shoulder in the bus or Fitz giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze, knowing they always hurt when she didn't get enough sleep. His affection and tenderness for his best friend was as overwhelming as it had ever been and if he'd become much more aware of things like the sweet flowery smell of her hair or the curve of her full lips whenever she smiled at him, he supposed he could live with it. With time, it would probably fade away.

-0-0-0-

As more water fell from the only pipe he thought didn't need changing and onto his shirt, Fitz started to regret the deal he made with their landlord. At the time, telling him that he would fix everything in the apartment by himself in exchange for a lower rent seemed like a good idea. After all, the place was quite new and he was an engineer, he liked tinkering with machines and fixing things with his bare hands. Of course, he didn't think that, of all the things he might have to work on barely six months after their moving, the main bathroom plumbing would be the first one. Fitz didn't mind getting dirty with a bit of engine grease -not that it was the kind of machine he usually worked with- but grease mixed with water and unknown kinds of dirt was something else entirely.

Hopefully, this pipe would be the last one he was changing and he'd be finished in time for dinner, hoping that spending almost his entire Saturday afternoon fixing the plumbing in the bathroom would convince Jemma to forget about their enforced post Christmas diet for once and let them have pizza. She'd told him she could stay and help but he insisted that it was too cramped for the two of them to be in here anyway. He'd much rather let Jemma go out with Amy and use this to get a favor from her later if she really insisted on making it up to him at some point.

Speaking of the devil, he could hear Jemma's keys in the lock as she opened the door to their apartment.

"Fitz?" He heard her call him from the living room. He could also hear Amy chatting enthusiastically about something but was too far to understand what it was.

"Yeah. 'm almost done in here!" He cried out in response.

"D'you need help for something?" She asked, her voice getting louder and clearer as she obviously got closer to him.

"No no I'm good. Just need to check everything one last time and clean up. Don't come in here, you'll just get as dirty as I am!"

"Oh … okay then." She answered, her voice sounding a little weird and distorted through the walls and the small cabinet he was crouching under.

Five minutes later Fitz let out a relieved sigh when he turned the water on in the bathtub and the sink and water actually came out of there and not anywhere else. Feeling quite proud of himself, he quickly gathered all his tools and put them back in their box or on his tool belt and put all the old leaky pipes into a trash bag. Then taking the mope he'd prepared before starting all this -Jemma would be proud of his preparedness for once-, he quickly wiped the floor from all residual dirt and decided to let it dry on its own.

Seing the state of the old pair of Converse he'd been wearing all day, all wet and dirty, he took them and his socks off to bring them to his dirty laundry basket on his way to his room to take a shower in "his" bathroom and change clothes.

As he was prepared to cajole Jemma -and Amy, the treacherous girl was always on Jemma's side when it came to healthy food- to order pizza tonight, Fitz smelt something delicious coming from the living room.

"Oh my god, is that pizza I smell?" He cried out as he walked in the room. "I thought I'd have to whine and beg to get one tonight …" He grinned as his hopes were confirmed by the two familiar boxes resting on the kitchen table next to a pack of beer. They must really have been grateful for him fixing the plumbing.

"Oh yeah, thought you deserved a reward after working on this all day and I also have …" Jemma trailed off as she finally turned around to look at him. She and Amy had been busy unpacking whatever they'd bought that afternoon but they went suddenly quite still, quiet and a little wide eyed.

"What?" He asked, a little taken aback by their reaction. Maybe he'd hit his forehead harder than he thought earlier and had a huge bruise on it or something, even though it was unlikely since it didn't even hurt anymore.

But then he saw Jemma's eyes giving him a quick once over and both girls's strange expression turn into a small grin and he realized what he must look like. He wasn't exactly used to getting dirty when he worked so he didn't have any kind of overall or whatever you were supposed to wear to do that. So he'd found an old white undershirt he must have worn only a few times under the only white shirt he had and an old pair of jeans. He was surprised when he realized that both items were a bit too tight. Of course as he grew up, he was used to clothes getting too short but it was the first time he's had clothes becoming too tight. The t-shirt was stretched out around the shoulders and the jeans who used to be a little baggy now felt like they were just as adjusted as the trousers the sales lady insisted he buys when he went shopping to get more "grown up" clothes before he started at SciOps. Maybe his very modest workout training program was paying off after all. Anyway, he probably looked pretty ridiculous that way, especially to Jemma who was always so obsessed with cleanliness. He was about to mumble something about the fact that it was to fix their bathroom that he looked like that when Jemma finally spoke.

"Nothing it's just the … the-the beard!" She cried out a little too enthusiastically, like she'd found a really good word at scrabble. "Yeah it's the beard, not used to seeing you unshaven for so long ..." She added with a strange kind of smile.

"Oh yeah, too much work these days … didn't have time to shave since Wednesday! Thought it was alright to wait a little longer since I wasn't going to go out today anyway but …"

"Oh no it's alright!" She cut him off. "It's just different … not bad different I mean, just …kind of … suits you actually …"

Obviously, things were still a little awkward every once in a while. Usually, she would not have hesitated to make fun of him for how he looked but now she was a bit too careful not to hurt his feelings and he wondered if she'd noticed how he was sometimes looking at her with a not completely friendly platonic eye. Maybe she was feeling guilty for awakening "something" in him. This was a very Jemma thing to do, of course she was the one who initiated that kiss but it didn't take long for him to reciprocate and they promised each other they'd get past it and she couldn't be held responsible for his treacherous brain working that way.

"Oh no Jemma you don't have to say …" He started but he was cut off by a smirking, eye-rolling Amy. Sometimes he really felt like he was faced with a younger and more annoying version of his best friend.

"Also is everything going well at work Fitz?" She asked and he gave her a confused look.

"What? hum yeah of course, just quite busy is all. Why do you …"

"No 'cause since you've obviously just got home from your Village People audition, I thought maybe you were thinking of changing career …" She let out and both sisters burst out laughing.

"Ah ah. That's really funny Amy! Can't believe I spent all afternoon fixing YOUR bathroom …" He mumbled as he started walking towards his room. He had admit the tool belt maybe was a bit much but it really was practical.

"Awww Fitz! I'm kidding!" She let out in a still teasing but softer tone. "I'm really grateful for that. I'd hug you but you're kinda gross right now!"

"YOU'RE gross!" He grumbled almost automatically and he could see Jemma rolling her eyes with a small smile. He, on the other hand, felt pretty proud of himself for mastering this classic sibling retort. "And I don't want your hugs anyway!" He added childishly, which made Amy giggle even louder.

"No but Fitz really thanks so much for fixing our bathroom." Jemma intervened. "I mean, we brought pizza to show our eternal gratitude …" She said, pointing towards the two cardboard boxes on the table with a wide smile and he couldn't help reciprocating it.

"Fine I guess I'll have to accept your offering!" He grinned and she grinned back as they both apparently decided to ignore Amy saying how big of a nerd they both were. "But hum … I'd like to clean up a bit before eating, think it'll still be hot enough after I get out of the shower and change clothes?" He asked and Jemma seemed at a loss for words once more. If she hadn't been out with her fifteen years old sister, he'd say she's already had a drink or five. It was the only situation he ever knew Jemma to have trouble finding the simplest of words.

"Oh surely it won't be quite as hot but I'm sure Jemma will manage something …" Amy answered in her stead and Jemma just nodded with a strange sort of smile.

"Okayyy …" Fitz replied. "I'll get to it then … won't be long!" Then he walked to his bedroom to get rid of his dirty shoes and tool belt, grab some clean clothes and got out again to go to his bathroom. He could still hear them whisper and giggle after he was gone and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious about what they were saying, but sometimes he also wished he had more real male friends in which he could confide things he could't tell Jemma.

-0-0-0-

Fifteen minutes earlier.

"So you're sure it's not weird that I bought him a t-shirt? Maybe I should wait for his birthday to give him …" Jemma asked one more time as they were entering the building.

"Sure you should wait nine months to give him a bloody t-shirt you paid twenty dollars for …" Amy replied, rolling her eyes.

"No right … you're probably right it's just …"

"Listen, you buy him things all the time, he spent all his afternoon fixing the plumbing for us knowing how much you would have hated doing it, so pizza and a t-shirt doesn't seem exaggerated as a thank you gift and I mean it's a fun t-shirt not … I don't know … underwear or something!" Amy finished a bit lamely but Jemma knew she had a point. Things seemed to have finally gotten back to normal so it should be alright to bring him back something from an afternoon spent shopping as she did countless times. The thing was just that the last time she did something to thank him for something nice he did, she ended up snogging him quite heatedly in their living room.

And as much as they both worked to make things between them get back to normal, she couldn't quite forget that kiss. Couldn't forget the taste of his lips and the fire it had ignited inside her. But she supposed that having pizza with him all gross and sweaty after he'd spent all afternoon under the sink and with Amy as a witness wasn't exactly a recipe for the kind of romantic setting that led them to fall into each other's arms.

"Or …" Amy let out loud enough to distract Jemma out of her musings. "… maybe it's just that you WANT buying gifts for Fitz to mean something else because you want things to be …"

"Oh not that again!" Jemma huffed in exasperation. "Sometimes I really regret telling you …"

"Yeah like you could have with the way you two were acting. I can't believe you work for a spy agency!" Amy snorted as they got out of the elevator.

"Yes as scientists! Anyway, didn't think straight, drunken mistake, didn't mean a thing, Fitz's my best friend in the world so just stop talking about it now, I don't want him to hear us!" Jemma hissed as they stopped in front of their apartment.

"Well being best friends doesn't mean you can't be more …" Amy started before Jemma cut her off with a glare as they came in the apartment.

"Fitz?" She cried out to make sure he was actually there.

"Yeah. 'm almost done in here!" He replied, his voice muffled and hard to hear because of the walls separating them, so she took a few steps into the hallway until she could peak through the bathroom's open door. It was surprisingly not too messy considering he'd been at it all day. Her lips ticked up at the corners when she noticed he was wearing the same Converse he was wearing on the day they spoke to each other for the first time. She'd noticed them because after crashing into him as she was running to get to class on time, she'd immediately went to her knees to gather everything that had fallen from both their arms. And before he joined her on the floor to help her, she'd noticed he was wearing red Converse just like the doctor. He didn't wear them much now, but she liked that he kept them considering they were the first thing that got them to speak and overcome their shyness and realize how much they had in common.

"D'you need help for something?" She asked even though she knew perfectly well he'd dismiss her since he was almost finished anyway.

"No no I'm good. Just need to check everything one last time and clean up. Don't come in here, you'll just get as dirty as I am!" Maybe it was from talking through the cabinet under the sink but his voice sounded lower than usual, just like it did after they broke away from that kiss and it sent a small shiver down her spine. Of course it didn't help that he mentioned getting dirty which reminded her of what he'd told her in that ridiculous dream she's had a few days after Christmas and that made her wake up all flushed and sweaty. But she hadn't been with anyone in a long time and it was just her treacherous brain mixing everything in her dreams and painfully reminding her that she was the one responsible for the awkwardness between them.

"Oh … okay then." She answered, trying to sound as natural as possible as she went back to the living room to take off her coat and start unpacking everything she and Amy bought.

Seeing the number of bags and everything she bought for herself but also Amy, Fitz and their apartment, she realized she must have been compensating for everything she did not buy for her parents. It's been more than seven months now and even though she felt like things were getting better and she was starting to accept the fact that they wouldn't be in her life anymore, Christmas was a tough period. Her parents' house was always so happy and bursting with life, with so many of their relatives staying there for a least a few days that it was hard to see it so calm and empty. Amy and their aunt and a few of their closest cousins and aunts and uncles tried do their best to make this Christmas a nice moment but it really wasn't the same. And when she would have normally talked to Fitz on the phone or skype for several hours every day, they only talked a few times and not for long. Fitz being who he was, he still did his best to make sure she was alright and let her know he wasn't angry and was still his best friend but things were strange nonetheless and conversations were cut short.

And now that things were finally getting back to normal, that they were able to stay up late to have lengthy conversations or just watch a show with her head on his shoulder without feeling weird about it, she couldn't let all these confusing thoughts make things weird between them again. She needed her best friend in her life way too much for that and he shouldn't have to suffer for her messed up brain and feelings anyway.

-0-0-0-

"Oh my god, is that pizza I smell?" Jemma heard him cry out from the hallway and she couldn't help grinning at the childish enthusiasm in his voice. Trust Fitz to smell pizza from a mile away. "I thought I'd have to whine and beg to get one tonight …" He added and that was one of the reasons she got one anyway, she knew he would beg and she knew he'd manage to be equally annoying and completely adorable and she didn't need that now. Also, she supposed that after the day he had, he deserved it. And honestly the whole diet thing was mostly so he wouldn't tempt her. Fitz still had that annoying teenage boy metabolism where it seemed like he could eat anything without gaining a single pound.

"Oh yeah, thought you deserved a reward after working on this all day and I also have …" Jemma started as she quickly put away her bag full of new underwear she really didn't need Fitz to see and went for the one which contained the t-shirt she bought him. But as she turned around to face him, it was like she lost the end of her sentence and had to make a conscious effort not to let her jaw drop.

"What?" He asked, his face a perfect mask of innocence and confusion. Jemma risked a glance towards her sister and saw the small smile tugging at her lips as well as the way she was unconsciously biting her lower lip. At least, she wasn't the only one seing it.

In all the years they'd known each other and all the times he helped her fix things in her Academy dorm room and bathroom, he had to choose this day to look so kind of ridiculous but confusingly sexy! She remembered making him buy that white undershirt, insisting that he couldn't go to a formal event looking all smart with his nipples showing through his white shirt. But she didn't remember it being so snug around those well formed shoulders she didn't remember seeing on him before either. And she was completely positive that his old jeans used to be a lot baggier, especially around some certains parts of his anatomy, some nice round and perky parts.

"Nothing it's just the … the-the beard!" She finally let out, realizing she must have spent way too much time ogling her best friend already. "Yeah it's the beard, not used to seeing you unshaven for so long ..." She added.

"Oh yeah, too much work these days … didn't have time to shave since Wednesday! Thought it was alright to wait a little longer since I wasn't going to go out today anyway but …"

"Oh no it's alright!" She cut him off. "It's just different … not bad different I mean, just …kind of … suits you actually …" Jemma had always loved a nice clean look on a man so how come this unshaven, dirty wet and grease stained look worked so ridiculously well on him? Maybe because on his angelic face and lean frame, it added just the right amount of raw manliness.

God … well done Jemma, she thought to herself, you managed to hold on to your resolution of not thinking about your best friend that way for a whole five minutes.

"Oh no Jemma you don't have to say …" He started, visibly on the impression that she was trying to be nice when honestly she would have liked nothing better than thinking he looked like a caveman and make fun of him for it, like she would have done only a month ago.

"Also is everything going well at work Fitz?" Amy asked before he had the time to finish his sentence or she had the time to insist that she did find him attractive like this and make him uncomfortable.

"What? hum yeah of course, just quite busy is all. Why do you …" He answered a bit confused. Of course he didn't know Amy like she did and didn't anticipate where she was going with that.

"No 'cause since you've obviously just got home from your Village People audition, I thought maybe you were thinking of changing career …" She let out and Jemma couldn't help laughing with her sister. She felt a little bad ganging up on him with Amy but she was kind of grateful for her sister stopping her from potentially embarrassing herself. And she had to admit the tool belt was a bit much ...

"Ah ah. That's really funny Amy! Can't believe I spent all afternoon fixing YOUR bathroom …" He grumbled in typical Fitz fashion as he opened the tool belt to rid himself of it, catching his t-shirt in the process and letting a bit of his stomach and faint abdominal muscles showing … god why did she blush over just a bit of pale skin? Was she sixteen again?

"Awww Fitz! I'm kidding!" Amy teased gently. "I'm really grateful for that. I'd hug you but you're kinda gross right now!"

"YOU'RE gross!" He teased back and Jemma rolled her eyes fondly at how quickly he picked up on classic siblings retort. "And I don't want your hugs anyway!" Although a real big brother would have taken this opportunity to hug her close and transfer all the dirt from his clothes to her pretty clean ones.

"No but Fitz really thanks so much for fixing our bathroom." Jemma insisted. "I mean, we brought pizza to show our eternal gratitude …" She added, deciding to keep the t-shirt for later that evening in case he'd get the crazy idea of taking off his shirt entirely to try out the new one immediately, however unlikely it was considering how insecure he's always been about his body.

"Fine I guess I'll have to accept your offering!" He said and they grinned at each other as Amy mumbled something Jemma didn't quite catch. "But hum … I'd like to clean up a bit before eating, think it'll still be hot enough after I get out of the shower and change clothes?" He asked and her mind blanked for a moment. Considering he clearly didn't realize the effect he was having on her, he probably didn't realize either how that sentence could have sounded to her ears.

"Oh surely it won't be quite as hot but I'm sure Jemma will manage something …" Amy answered for her and Jemma had to stop herself from swatting her arm. Fortunately, Fitz sounded like he was miles away from understanding what was happening inside the two girls' heads and she wasn't going to give him clues. So she just smiled and nodded.

"Okayyy …" Fitz replied. "I'll get to it then … won't be long!"

-0-0-0-

"Urgh Amy!" Jemma hissed at her sister while throwing one of the couch cushions at her face, which only made the younger girl giggle.

"So …" The younger girl started as she plopped down on the couch, her grin as wide as it could get without splitting her face in two. "How does it go again? It was just a moment of weakness, I was a bit tipsy, havent't kissed someone in a long time and he was being so sweet … that kiss was a mistake and Fitz is just my best friend and nothing more?"

"Well yeah …" Jemma answered, voluntarily ignoring the implicit suggestion that maybe what just happened suggested otherwise. "And please keep your voice down, I don't want him hearing your ridiculous theories." She added in a whisper. It's been a relief to have someone to talk about what happened with Fitz and she'd been quite surprised when her reaction didn't simply consist in different variations of "I told you so" and "I knew it". Instead, she did her best to reassure her and tell her that whatever happened she'd never loose Fitz. But when she saw them interact on new year's eve and the days following, she couldn't refrain from giving Jemma meaningful glances and quiet remarks and she started regretting telling her in the first place.

"Oh please Jemma, you were practically drooling over him, it was embarrassing … and don't think I didn't notice how much he looked like the covers of those books hidden under your bed that you were keeping for a friend …" Amy teased and Jemma rolled her eyes.

"Oh please I was only fifteen, haven't read those in years …"

"Doesn't mean the look doesn't still work for you!"

"Urgh …" Jemma cried out as she plopped down next to her sister in defeat. "Fine I find Fitz attractive, always thought he was anyway, doesn't change anything! This look just tends to … highlight his best features."

"Except when you start snogging him first occasion you get …"

"I don't … it only happened once!"

"… and you never told me if you liked it by the way …" Amy said, giving her sister a pointed look that turned into a wide grin when Jemma only blushed and looked down to her lap where she was picking invisible lints from her jeans. Obviously it would have been much simpler if the kiss had been bad.

"So he's like your favorite person in the world, you're practically raising a child together …"

"I thought you weren't a child anymore!" Jemma cut her off, quite conscious that her attempt at changing the subject wouldn't work. Amy wasn't her sister for nothing and she wouldn't let go so easily.

"Oh now you remember it! Anyway … favorite person, raising a child together, you're obviously attracted to him, you act and live like an old married couple and now you know for a fact that you like kissing him … but sure it was just a mistake that didn't mean anything …" Amy trailed off, feeling like she made her point and Jemma supposed she did.

She should have insisted once more that because all those things were true didn't mean they should be together except that for the moment, she couldn't come up with a single argument to convince even herself. So letting out a big sigh, she stood up from the couch.

"I'm gonna put the stuff I bought in the wash so I can wear some of those on Monday … wanna give me yours too?" She asked with a weary smile, hoping Amy would pick up on the fact that she probably won the argument but Jemma wasn't ready to admit anything out loud just yet.

"Sure … thanks Jem!" She said with a soft and less teasing smile. "And I'll put the pizzas in the oven until everyone's ready to eat." She added as she gave Jemma her two bags full of clothes and made her way to the kitchen.

"Yeah good idea … Thank you Amy" Jemma answered, hoping she'd understand all the reasons she really was thanking her for.