And here's the last chapter! Hope this is satisfying to everyone who's been following those past few days and thanks again to everyone who commented and left kuddos! And since I'm on a roll and procrastinating on the work I'm actually paid to do, I'm already working on two new stories :-D
"Oh my god it's happening!" Daisy whisper-shouted in Hunter's ear, making him jump a bit and hit his head on the counter under which he was crouched to get a new pack of napkins.
"Oh for god's sake …" He groaned. "WHAT is happening?"
"Fitz and Jemma of course!" She replied with a manic smile. "She just came in and they're talking! Look!"
"Oh that …" Hunter replied, affecting complete disinterest in the situation as he stood up and leaned on the counter to actually watch them. Just a little bit.
"Look look! They're smiling at each other … and she's blushing now … awwww … oh look now he's making her laugh! Aww well done Fitz! I knew you had it in you."
"Oh yeah she's laughing at his joke, start printing out the wedding invitations."
"Come on look at them! Even you can't deny they're adorable! They're so excited they're talking over each other now."
Of course they were adorable, all shy smiles and blushing cheeks like a couple of cartoon puppies! They'd make the cutest couple and he'd be really happy for them but he couldn't tell her that, he couldn't tell her that deep down, he was an hopeless romantic. Hopefully too, Bobbi would never tell Daisy the way he proposed to her or he'd never hear the end of it.
"Yeah yeah sure …"
"See I was right to wait!" Daisy continued, too excited to even acknowledge whatever Hunter said. "I knew they'd find a way to meet on their own … That's fate Hunter!"
"Yeah right … fate … or you know … the fact that I called Fitz and asked him to come fix the broken coffee machine earlier…"
"Ugh Hunter …"
"And by broken I mean that I just unplugged it to make up an excuse so Fitz would come at Jemma's usual time because I thought your obsession with fate was bullshit!" He finished with a pleased little grin.
"Hunter!" She cried out, punching his arm.
"What?! Look at them now, they're all smiley and flirty and whatnot. What more do you want?"
"Spontaneity!"
"Well for all they know, it was only chance that brought them together today. Also cabbage head's always looking at her, we had to do something before it was too late. It was only a matter of time before he asks her out!"
"Ugh you don't know that!"
"Yes I do. I'm a man. I know what THAT look means …" He replied with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk pulling at his lips.
"Just because YOU're disgusting doesn't mean …"
"Oh look, she's touching his hand!" He cut her off.
"Awwww …"
Way too easy.
-0-0-0-
It took Fitz less than ten minutes to realize how truly brilliant Jemma was. Even more so than he thought when they'd simply been trading notes on the message board. And it took him barely more than that to realize how everything else about her was absolutely amazing. Once they went through the inevitable first few minutes of shyness and awkwardness, they quickly fell into the face to face equivalent of their written exchanges. Now that there wasn't the risk of someone else reading it, Fitz could talk to her about his drones and show her the most recent schematics his professors had approved, meaning he could start building them soon. Jemma already had plenty of suggestions and it was only from the top of her head. Also, she was finally free to talk to him about her dendrotoxin and it was absolutely brilliant, possibly revolutionary. Fitz also noticed that when she got excited about something, Jemma tended to speak over him or complete his sentences. And by the time they finished their first coffee and ordered another one with muffins to go with, Fitz had started doing the same. He also noticed than whenever he said something funny or a little weird, she'd scrunch up her nose in the most adorable way, pushing him to maybe be a little bolder than he'd usually be about telling her the embarrassing amount of science puns he could easily remember.
But she really didn't seem to mind because she'd already insisted that they meet later that week so that he could help her find an adequate delivery mechanism for her dendrotoxin. (He already had several ideas for it and he knew he'd do everything in his power to find the perfect one because there was no way he was about to be relegated with the other engineers she'd worked with and deemed useless and incompetent).
Also, the more they talked, the closer she got to him. Whenever he said something especially interesting, she'd lean over the table, intentionally or not, and whatever he was saying, it was making it hard to focus on it rather than the lovely dusting of freckles on her nose and cheeks or the fact that her eyes were not exactly brown when you saw them up close but rather some sort of caramel color with specks of green and even gold when the light was reflected in them. But it's only when things started straying towards more personal topics like their family or their childhood that Fitz realized how Jemma maybe appreciated him for a little bit more than his brain and he hadn't completely imagined the flirty undertones of their last few notes.
"So hum …there's something I have to ask and feel free to tell me to piss off because I know you're not supposed to ask to a … (girl? woman?) … lady …" He started, slightly wincing at the outdated word he'd just used but that seemed to amuse her so he continued. "But hum … considering you already have the one PHD and working on the second one, I was wondering, and I mean maybe you're just older than you look but …"
"I'm seventeen" She cut him off with a small grin.
"Oh … wow …"
"That was what you were asking right?"
"Yeah yeah it was … I mean I figured you were a bit of a genius from you know … all your letters and what we've just talked about but you being seventeen, that's … even more impressive. All this time I figured you were at least five years older than that, which would have already made you exceptionally smart!"
She was blushing by the time he stopped talking but he could see her proud little smile. If she was anything like him, she knew there was no use in being modest about her intellect. Fitz didn't think much of himself but at least he knew he could always count on his brain.
"Well unless YOU look much younger as well" She said, tilting her head to the side as she seemed to observe him so thoroughly he thought she was looking directly into his DNA to determine his age. "I think we're about the same age right?"
"Yeah … yeah I'm seventeen as well."
"Right. See you're a genius as well!" She grinned.
"Yeah but you're still one PHD ahead of me!"
"Yes but when you're done, you'll be a rocket scientist, which is much cooler. You need to take the cool factor into consideration!"
Fitz chuckled.
"Wow, you really mustn't have spent much time with engineers if you think we have the reputation of being cool, I think you have us mistaken with the ones who actually get to use those rockets to go to space …"
"Oh please … there's nothing special about astronauts, any one can be with a little bit of training. But building rockets, that's something else entirely. And well I suppose my results are bit biased considering you're the only one I've ever spent a considerable amount of time with but … I stand by what I just said."
There was a sparkle in her eyes and something definitely warm in her smile that Fitz thought he'd never seen directed at him before and that made his heart do funny things inside his chest and his lips tuck into a smile of their own volition.
She was obviously waiting for him to say something now and Fitz had the feeling that whatever it was, it was going to affect their potential future relationship and its nature. So taking a deep breath and a gulp of his coffee (or at least he hoped it was his because their mugs got all mixed up and it seemed that they'd been drinking the exact same amount from it) and just said the first thing that came to his mind.
"Well at least I was right when I thought you were a girl" He grinned and she chuckled.
"Oh did you really? What made you think that?"
"Well I'm no expert or anything but your handwriting did look quite feminine … not to mention that you didn't mind being called Snow White …"
She laughed out loud this time before focusing her gaze back on him.
"And is that a good thing? That I'm a girl I mean?"
Fitz supposed he could have tried affecting a casual, detached attitude but he wasn't exactly smooth at the best of times and he certainly wasn't going to be when Jemma was smiling at him like that. Again.
"Hu yeah … definitely a good thing."
"Well that's very good then …" She said, slowly sliding her hand until it was on top of his where it rested palm down on the table between them. It was incredibly cold (especially considering she'd been holding her mug of hot coffee with it) but it was the softness with which she lightly moved her fingers over his skin that sent delicious shivers up his arm and his heart hammering in his chest. "… because I'm really glad you're a boy as well …"
Without overthinking it for once, Fitz turned his hand around until it was palm up and their fingers were brushing each other's palm. She let out a small gasp of surprise when he did but after only a second, she resumed the light movement of her fingers so he did the same. He supposed it wasn't much but it was bolder than anything he's ever done, especially with a girl he technically just met but he was glad he did. It felt so nice and tender that it made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside and strangely enough, it didn't feel weird. Actually it felt incredibly natural, like all the time he ever spent working on tiny machinery had only served to prepare him and make his hands gentle and agile enough to touch her hand the way she deserved to be touched. When he managed to tear his gaze off the mesmerizing view of how well her smaller hand fitted in his larger one, he saw the fond and pleased smile on her face and knew that would have been the perfect moment to tell her that the next time they meet, once they'd be done working on her dendrotoxin, they could maybe not go home and instead go out to eat something together. Somewhere nice preferably. But Fitz was pretty sure that if he tried to tell her that now, it would come out as a garble of noise that would most likely make her wonder if he was having a stroke. How could he expect being able to ask her out on a date when he wasn't even able to formulate it in his head?
Turned out the decision was made for him because that's when Hunter decided to announce that the coffee shop would be closing in five minutes. Which was followed by a weird announcement from Daisy saying that yes they were closing but there really was no rush and that whoever was doing something important at the moment could linger a little longer. Then Hunter added that some people here had an actual social life and needed to go home at some point and then it seemed to devolve into another one of their weird bickering but Fitz couldn't hear what they were saying. Not that he really cared anyway because Jemma had taken her hand away from his and already had her jacket back on. And that wasn't any good. Fitz needed more time with her to feel more relaxed and be as "cool" as she thought he was when he finally asks her out.
"Wait hu … do you-I mean do you … maybe want to go get a drink or something to eat?" He finally managed to blurt out and she grinned at him before looking down at their mugs and remnants of muffins on their plates. "Well I mean something other than muffins and coffee obviously like hu … dinner … or just maybe go for a walk, if it's not too cold out or I don't know just … I don't feel like leaving you just yet but I'd understand if you have things to do or just don't want …"
"Fitz?" She cut him off, her voice soft but still effectively stopping him in his tracks. "I'd really like to spend more time with you now. I'm not really hungry but don't worry, I'm sure we'll think of something." She added before taking a few steps towards him and taking his hand to pull him up and off his chair. It's only when he saw her look up at him that he realized he had a few inches on her. He wasn't exactly tall himself and her personality shone so bright through everything she did that he never thought such a tiny (and lovely) form could hold it all.
"So. Ready?" She asked.
"Uh yeah sure …"
He quickly gathered his stuff and put it back in his messenger bag that he hung across his chest once he put his hoodie back on. When he was done, he was delighted to notice that she took his hand back like it was the most natural thing in the world and he couldn't help grinning about it.
Once they were out and just a few steps away from the door, they stopped walking and Fitz turned to her, moving his weight from one foot to the other like a nervous cat.
"So hum did you want to do something in particular or …"
She seemed to be studying him like he was one of her experiments, for what felt like hours but was still most likely only seconds until a small smile tucked at her lips. Then, almost imperceptibly, she took the small step separating them and there she was in front of him, close enough that he could feel the warmth radiating from her body and one hand, the one that wasn't still holding his, on his shoulder. She must have noticed his own smile because she rose up on her tiptoes and, with an aching gentleness, she pressed her lips to his, her hand moving from his shoulder to his neck and ending up cupping his jaw. It was all so soft and delicious that for a moment he felt frozen and he probably only owed it to muscle memory that he started kissing her back before it was too late. But then his brain finally caught up and he melted into it, lightly parting his lips to capture her full upper one as his other hand came to rest on her hip to keep her close and steady.
"Hmmm" She sighed contentedly before opening her eyes and looking up at him after they finally broke the kiss. "You looked rather nervous about the whole thing so I thought this would take some of the pressure off."
"Oh …"
"Also … I've been wanting to do it since you looked up at me with those big blue eyes of yours when I came in earlier …" She added and he grinned widely. "To be fair, I've been wanting to do it pretty much since we started corresponding but there was still the possibility that you were a woman or a weird sixty years old man so …"
"Not gonna lie, that was one of my worries as well …" Fitz grinned, pressing his forehead to hers for a moment as they both chuckled. "So really … is there something you wanted to do now?"
"Actually … I don't know about later but I wouldn't mind more of the same for now. What do you think?" She said, grinning mischievously.
"I guess I could be persuaded …" Fitz replied with more bravado than he was actually feeling. Was this amazingly smart, wonderful and incredibly pretty girl actually asking him if he would mind kissing her some more? And because he wanted to show her that he could also take bold initiatives, this time he was the one to cup her jaw and tilt her head up so that he could capture her lips, this time not wasting a single second of it by overthinking it. And he enjoyed everything about it too, the warmth of her lips and how they tasted of blueberries, the way she squeezed his hand tighter and softly sighed in pleasure every time he lightly sucked on her upper lip and of course how, when he tried to pull back, she only pressed for more and deepened the kiss without a moment's hesitation, which would have left a dopey grin on his face if his lips were free to do so. But most of all and however cheesy that might have sounded, he was incredibly thankful to his past self for being careless and forgetting the blessed piece of paper that brought Jemma into his life.
-0-0-0-
"Oh wow, they're leaving hand in hand! I must say I truly underestimated those two, thought it would take them a bit longer to get there …" Daisy let out unenthusiastically as she flopped down against the counter.
"Yeah me too I guess … but isn't that a good thing?"
"Yes yes of course it is …"
"Then why do you sound like that time your favorite show got canceled?" Hunter smirked, remembering how gloomy she'd been all week. Over a TV show! How ridiculous was that?
"I don't, I'm really happy for them it's just … I thought maybe they'd become friends first, not too long maybe just for a few months and then one of them -probably him, he looks like the romantic one- would make a super romantic declaration -of course it would be here because that's where their story started- and maybe there would be a bit of drama but then she'd realize she loves him too and it would be so beautiful and … WHAT?" She cut herself off.
"Oh now I see what it is … you haven't found yourself a new show to watch haven't you?"
"What? No that's not …"
"Daisy!" He cried out in mock outrage. "Those are real people with real feelings! It's not nice of you to wish drama upon them! Bad Daisy!" He added, lightly slapping her hand and she rolled her eyes as she swatted his hand away.
"Well what about you? You lied to Fitz so that he would come and see her today, you manipulated them too!"
"Yeah but for their own good, so that they finally meet and realize sooner rather than later that they've got the hots for each other!"
"You don't know that! They're just holding hands, it's not exactly like she jumped his bones in the middle of the room …" Daisy retorted, rolling her eyes as she straightened up and reluctantly grabbed the mop to start cleaning the floor now that the place was empty.
"Oh really? Well look at that then …" Hunter said with wide eyes and an even wider smile, nodding towards the large window overlooking the street.
"Oh!" Daisy gasped before affecting a casual attitude once more. "Well it's just one kiss it's not like … oh …"
"Yep … someone's bones are definitely going to be jumped tonight …" He grinned.
"What no that's not how you use that … oh …"
"Oh wow, going directly for the neck, told you she was naughty!" Hunter chuckled before turning around, feeling like a creep watching those kids snogging quite enthusiastically in front … oh wait against their window.
"Do you think we should go out there and tell them there are still people inside who can see them?" Daisy asked, looking at them with an expression that was a cross between amusement, joy and quite a bit of discomfort, like she had to witness one of her siblings make out with someone. Except she couldn't seem to take her eyes of them.
"Stop watching them you creep!" Hunter cried out.
"Yeah yeah just a moment … it's just … they're so cute I figured they would like hold hands and give each other adorable chaste kisses on the lips and keep the rest … you know … private." Daisy let out, looking happy for them but still a little bit disappointed that she didn't get to witness the slowly building romance she was hoping for.
"Well you forgot to take into account that behind these huge brains, they're still teenagers and thus have a body that's literally boiling with hormones."
"Yeah I guess …"
"So do you still think they're so pure and adorable?"
"I never said they were pure and they're still adorable … just more bunnies than puppies I guess!" Daisy said with a roll of her eyes and they both chuckled.
Considering that this conversation was over, Hunter unlocked the cash register and took the drawer out to bring it to the back and start counting the money in the office well out of sight of a potential passersby.
-0-0-0-
Chancing a glance in their directions, Daisy saw that they'd finally decided to stop kissing and were now smiling dopily at each other and that made Daisy smile sincerely. Never mind that things didn't happen exactly the way she imagined, these two truly were perfect for each other and even though they were still young, she supposed there was no harm in starting to plan their wedding and imagining what their adorably smart and British babies would look like. On the other side of the window, Jemma said something in Fitz's ear that had him blushing to the roots of his hair and made Jemma look mightily pleased with herself. Then she took his hand again and they started walking away. Daisy was about to turn around and finally start cleaning up so they could all go home soon when they stopped after only a few meters.
"Oh what now? They really can't get enough of … oh …"
Fitz was taking his hoodie off and even though Jemma seemed to protest for a second, he wrapped it around her shoulders then put his arm on top of it and pulled her to him, her head at the perfect height to fall on his shoulder. And like it wasn't enough, he pressed a kiss to her hairline before they walked away and out of Daisy's sight for good.
"Awwww …"
The adorable fluffy affectionate puppy side of Fitz was still alive and well and everything was right with the world again.