A/N: I am aware that I am a total asshole for letting this sit for so long and I could go on and on about why, but I'll just say life got in the way. I'm trying to get back into writing though, so don't give up on my just yet. Also, this may or may not be the fluff before the storm.
Skye snored. A lot. Somehow Jemma couldn't bring herself to wake her though, so in the early hours of the morning she just laid in bed next to her, an open textbook propped up on her legs. Skye deserved to sleep in, since it was the weekend and she had so much going on.
It looked like for once Skye didn't have a care in the world; her face was more peaceful and relaxed than Jemma had ever seen her. She liked it. Skye was cute when she slept, sprawled all over the bed, limbs going in every direction.
Jemma let her sleep until Skye suddenly shifted, abruptly rolling over. Blood rushed into Jemma's cheeks and her face turned pink when her friend's face rested on her chest, and the younger girl nuzzled into her side. Skye must have been at least partially awake, but it took a few agonizingly long seconds to realize just where she'd put her face, and she jerked into a sitting position. She looked tomato red, probably more embarrassed than Jemma, and wouldn't meet her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, I'm a sleep cuddler and I should have mentioned it." Skye mumbled, her hands suddenly very occupied by fiddling with the corner of the sheet.
"It's fine. You really need to stop apologizing." Jemma chuckled. She closed her textbook and set it on the nightstand to give her friend her fullest attention. Skye finally looked up at her and there was a small, grateful smile on her face. It soon fell away, however, and was replaced by a bit of a downcast look.
"What?" Jemma asked, though truthfully she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Skye had a lot of upsetting things to think about and Jemma couldn't even imagine.
"I just wanted to clarify because of everything that's been going on, but we're friends, right?" Skye sounded so unsure of herself and it made Jemma's heart break. She didn't know how Skye couldn't know that after everything, but she also could at the same time.
"Of course, Skye." Jemma grabbed for her hands and squeezed them lightly, but it wasn't until she saw the slightly disappointed look in Skye's eyes that she realized. She hadn't been asking if they were friends, she'd been asking if they were more and now Jemma didn't know how to explain. She didn't even know herself.
She didn't know what to say, so Jemma lifted one hand to Skye's face, brushing her thumb over her cheekbone softly. "I'm always going to be here for you, okay? You and me." Jemma promised, and she could practically see physical happiness in Skye's eyes.
"You and me." Skye repeated, squeezing Jemma's hand back. Her eyes shifted downwards, to Jemma's lips, and neither of them failed to notice. Skye took a small inhale before leaning in and pressing her lips against Jemma's so lightly she could barely feel it. Jemma didn't move. She could feel Skye testing, seeing if she wanted to go further, and she wasn't about to push her after what had happened last time.
"Was that ok?" Skye asked, and Jemma felt terrible that she even had to ask. She wanted Skye to know that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her. They were normal for wanting to be with each other like this and Jemma was determined to teach her that it was more than ok.
Jemma nodded, and Skye leaned in again. This time Jemma responded, cupping Skye's face with her hands and scooting closer. She felt Skye's hands on her waist, and she couldn't have been happier. She and Skye were meant to be like this, together, and they both knew it.
"Good morning girls, I made blueberry pancakes if you want- oh." Jemma's mother suddenly opened the door and entered the room. Skye flew off of Jemma and jumped away like she suddenly had the plague. Jemma couldn't help her annoyance with her mother for scaring her like that, especially because of what had happened when Skye's foster mother had caught them like this.
"Girls, we have an open doors policy in this house for that." Jemma's mother raised an eyebrow and gestured to the door, but the older woman's small laugh was enough of a tell to know she was more amused than anything.
"I know Mum." Jemma chuckled, and when she left, Jemma turned back to Skye.
"I'm so sorry." She apologized, but she couldn't keep the small laugh out of her throat. Skye's face broke into a smile and Jemma knew in that moment that Skye realized she had a family.
"Do you know what we're doing today?" Jemma asked, pulling her shirt over her head and slamming her locker shut. Skye was already standing next to her, having gotten there first and already finished changing.
"I heard soccer from my source in second period." Skye informed her, frowning. They both knew what that meant. Just because Ward also played on the school's soccer team, he was automatically a team captain every time they played. Jemma assumed he only took P.E. as well because he wasn't smart enough for another academic class.
"We'll see who gets to pick first then, I'll be on that team." Jemma chuckled, but it still felt like a little pang of disappointment rippled through her chest. Skye smiled sympathetically and they headed outside to meet on the track.
It had been two weeks since Skye had been taken out of her previous foster home. She had almost been sent back to St. Agnes, but she had been assigned a foster home at the last moment. Jemma wasn't sure if she had been happy or nervous, maybe both. It had ended up strangely, though. Skye hadn't known until the door opened that Coulson was a certified foster parent, but he was her current foster father. It only made class slightly awkward, but it seemed to be going well. Skye had told her nothing but good things, but Skye had still been hesitant to invite Jemma over, and she understood. It couldn't be easy moving into a new house with a new person and settling in like it was home.
Things had taken a turn for the better. Jemma and Skye were going steady now, though not quite out to the rest of the school, and Fitz was still their best friend and confidante. The only problem they currently faced was Ward, but he was just a jerk and both Skye and Jemma were content that he was their worst problem at the moment.
They enjoyed it, holding hands as they walked out to the field and only letting go when there were more people around them. Jemma didn't miss the look from Ward, but she didn't want to go about trying to hide from him like a coward.
"Ward and Morse, you're captains today." May barked out orders after their warmup laps. She pulled an old coin out of her pocket and flipped it, covering up the result with her free hand. "Since Ward never uses his, Morse, you're heads." May's comment caused a few cracks of laughter to be heard and Ward's face scrunched up in annoyance. Jemma grinned and nudged Skye, who was giggling.
"Tails." May revealed the coin and Ward crossed his arms over his chest, smug smile back again. The rest of the students finally quieted down so teams could be picked.
"Simmons." Jemma's jaw practically dropped, and Skye's hand was suddenly wrapped around her upper arm, preventing her from going anywhere. The entire class was in varying levels of shock. Why on earth would Ward pick Jemma first? Skye gave her a concerned look before May finally reprimanded her and Jemma walked forward dumbly, leaving Skye back at the lineup. The picking continued back and forth, and each time Ward refused to pick Skye. After a few rounds of back and forth, Bobbi finally picked Skye and she moved to stand opposite of Jemma. Neither of them knew what was going on, but they were both silent as whatever was happening started to play out on its own.
It was even more puzzling that Ward decided to put Jemma on offense, but it wasn't until five minutes into the game that she realized what Ward was doing.
The first time he "passed" the ball to her, it hit her in the stomach. She doubled over and the players from the other team rushed past her and stole the ball, taking it back down the field. Skye's quick reflexes were being used in the goalie position on Bobbi's team, but Jemma could see how much she wanted to cross the field and kick the crap out of Ward.
The second time Jemma had the ball was because Kara had passed it to her legitimately, but she hadn't known what to do with it and Ward barreled over to her and stole the ball, but not without kicking her shin "on accident".
The third time the ball was coming at her, Jemma had enough sense to cover her face, but that didn't stop Ward's pass from slamming into her arm with a force that made her skin sting and tears well up in her eyes. But still, he hadn't been flagged, since she was on his team and it didn't appear to be intentional from the standpoint of an onlooker. The play was called a handball and Jemma was groaned at by several other teammates.
"I could kill that guy." Skye grumbled as she helped Jemma pull her PE shirt over her head. There was a bruise forming on her abdomen and Jemma could see Skye's jaw clench in response to it.
"He's not worth it, he just needed someone to pick on and I was there." Jemma shrugged as they changed, realizing that it felt like they were playing a role reversal.
"That wasn't just picking on you Jemma, that was a whole new level of asshole. That was planned and intentional." Skye huffed. Jemma sighed and shut her locker. She gathered up her things to walk to the cafeteria for lunch and couldn't help but cringe are the soreness in her leg as they began to walk.
"You know administration loves him. The soccer team brings in money from sponsors, so they aren't likely to do anything drastic on the notion he may have done something we can't prove." Jemma wished she wasn't so logical and she wished this wasn't how the system worked, but it was and she was going to have to deal with it. Skye had dealt with much tougher things, so it would be weak of Jemma to go and cry about something like this.
"I still wish that son of a bitch would finally get what he deserves." Skye grumbled, but Jemma only nudged her and gave her the the look Skye had known to mean language, Skye.
Skye wouldn't say she was in the closet, but she wouldn't say she was out of it either. She liked holding Jemma's hand in the hallways and sitting a little closer than a friend would at lunch, but she still scooted away when she noticed a stare, and they never dared share a kiss in public. Skye wasn't sure if that was because she and Jemma were girls or because Jemma probably wouldn't be a fan of PDA, Skye wasn't sure.
Either way, she was more than ok with the current state of things. There were no scary foster parents and no looming fear of them hurting her. There was no fear of Jemma's rejection or a conflict with Fitz. She could just sit at lunch and chew on her lollipop purely for the adorable, scrunched up face Jemma made at the sound. For once she was taking her time and enjoying the little things.
She was enjoying the big things too. Coulson was turning out to be the best faster father she'd had her entire life. It made it even better that he knew about her relationship-friendship, of course- with Jemma, and continued to pair them together. It felt comfortable with him, so comfortable that Skye wanted to invite Jemma over. If she could go home and make dinner with Coulson and talk about her day, she should be on a level where she could invite a friend over.
Skye finally breached the subject at lunch, when Fitz was off doing something with the robotics club and it was just the two of them.
"Jems?" Skye broke the comfortable silence between them and stuck the lollipop stick into the wrapper, twisting it up and fiddling with it in her hands.
"What?" Jemma asked, taking a break from her early study session and tucking her pencil behind her ear so she was ready to listen attentively. Skye knew it was no mystery to her that she sounded nervous, Jemma knew her better than anyone.
"Are you doing anything after school today? I was thinking you could come over and we could do homework and watch netflix or something." Skye asked unceremoniously, but despite her casual shrug, it was obvious she was still anxious about it.
"That sounds like fun. I can drive if you want." Jemma offered. It made Skye grin and she liked how Jemma somehow managed to see it as a normal thing and also be aware of how monumental it really was at the same time.
"Just don't... you know." Skye told Jemma as they sat in her car in the driveway. They had gotten there five minutes ago, but Skye had yet to get out and Jemma was content to sit there and wait until she was ready.
"What? Kiss you?" Jemma grinned at her nervousness. It was cute how she was shy about it and Jemma hoped eventually she wouldn't be, but she was patient. Skye nodded and Jemma leaned over between the seats and planted a quick kiss on Skye's lips.
"I thought it would be best to get it out of my system now." Jemma joked. Skye cracked a grin and finally opened the car door. They walked up to the porch and Jemma knew Skye was preparing herself. Coulson had already beat them home because they had gone to get popcorn before heading to the house.
Finally, Skye opened the front door and led them both inside. Coulson was reading a book on the couch in the living room, but he gently closed it and stood up when he saw them walk in.
"Hello Mr. Coulson, it's nice to see you." Jemma said, not quite sure of the social parameters for seeing a teacher outside of school, even when that teacher was her girlfriend's foster father.
"Please, it's Phil here." Coulson smiled warmly. "I'm glad Skye has finally brought you home instead of just talking about you nonstop." He grinned and Skye blushed.
"Thanks for that." Skye mumbled, but it was still in a playful tone that made Jemma hopeful for the future. "We're going to go upstairs before you can embarrass me any further." She smiled at him and lightly grabbed for Jemma's arm, tugging her toward the staircase. "I don't think I need to tell you that you should keep your door open." Coulson called after them and Jemma could see the red appear on Skye's cheeks yet again.
"I don't think it's a mystery to that man that we're more than friends." Jemma chuckled and gently set her bag down on the ground in Skye's room. She took a deep breath as she looked around, taking it all in. The room didn't seem very Skye, and that made her a little sad, but she supposed if she had just moved into a new place and wasn't sure she was staying, she wouldn't exactly have posters up on the walls either.
The walls were grey, and the blanket on the bed was a plain beige color. There was a nightstand and a dresser against the wall, but there were no personal belongings on them other than Skye's phone charger on the night stand plugged into the wall behind it. It looked like a hotel room, a temporary place to sleep, and Jemma was sure Skye caught the frown on her face.
"It's not perfect, but at least it's not bright pink." Skye joked as she flopped down onto the bed and raised an eyebrow at Jemma.
"I told you I painted that room when I was eight!" Jemma giggled and sat down onto the bed next to her, poking her in the side and tickling her just enough to make her squirm.
"Eight or seventeen, you're still adorable." Skye smirked and sat back up, twisting her body so she was facing Jemma and placing a hand on the other side of her legs. "There is one bonus about Phil already knowing about us..." She trailed off, and they both went quiet. Jemma could smell Skye's daisy-scented shampoo and that little smile on her face made her heartbeat quicken.
"Oh really? And what might that be?" Jemma played along. Skye slowly leaned in the rest of the way and captured her lips with a kiss, slowly pushing Jemma's back down onto the bed as she put more of her weight on her.
"You're really quite good at this." Jemma mumbled past her lips before allowing herself to relax even further under her. Skye slid her leg over Jemma's lap so she was straddling her on the bed. She breathed some sort of response, but Jemma didn't understand and was willing to not question it to continue deepening the kiss. She was enjoying the initiative Skye took when she was comfortable and wasn't keen on interrupting it. Just when she was completely distracted, however, Skye retracted her lips and her fingers began an assault on Jemma's sides, right in her most ticklish spot.
"Skye!" Jemma shrieked and laughed, squirming under her, but Skye was much stronger than her and had set up a perfect little trap. Skye was grinning and laughing herself, not relenting on her tickle attack even as Jemma's face reddened from the effort of trying to escape and the corners of her eyes were moist from laughing so hard. At that moment Skye decided that Jemma's laugh was her favorite sound, and she promised herself she would make Jemma laugh as much as she could.