Chapter Text
Shooting a wary glance down either direction of the hall, Fitz then eyed the door directly across from him that he’d been standing outside of for the past fifteen minutes. It remained closed, though, which meant that Jemma remained inside of the room, so he continued to wait.
He’d just happened to catch sight of her moving through the halls with purpose on his way back to his quarters after breakfast, and had then followed her at a careful distance until she’d arrived at a room in a hallway that he hadn’t been down before. Though his intent had been to secret her away for another all-too brief meeting (and perhaps this time, they wouldn’t be interrupted), he’d hesitated to follow her inside the room, for fear that she wasn’t alone – the very last thing that he wanted was to get her in trouble with Kasius, after all.
And so, he waited, keeping a watchful eye out for guards, a prepared excuse already waiting on his lips should any pass by.
Finally, after some time, the door creaked open and Jemma stepped out into the hallway. She froze halfway out of the room, though, in clear shock to find him there, leaning back against the opposite wall, her eyes growing wide.
“Hi,” Fitz mouthed, offering her a little grin.
She leaned further out of the room, glancing up and down the hall worriedly. Then, likely upon seeing that the coast was clear, she reached out to grasp his hand in hers and tugged him back into the room with her.
He followed her automatically, a bit thrown by the feeling of her smaller hand wrapped within his own, his fingers curling protectively around hers. But, then a voice broke into his daze, saying in obvious confusion, “Jemma? What’re you doing back – whoa!”
Glancing away from Jemma, Fitz found one of the Inhumans from the dining hall last night just jumping up from a bed that took up most of the small room they were in. Looking from her to Jemma a handful of times, he quickly put the pieces together; the girl had to be the Daisy that Jemma had asked him about, the one that she had asked if he was planning on purchasing.
Jemma mouthed something to Daisy then, but Fitz wasn’t at quite the right angle to read her lips, though he did see her gesture toward him.
“And you said there was nothing going on between you and the Marauder,” Daisy said to Jemma slyly, a smirk curling her lips.
Arching an eyebrow at that, Fitz turned to Jemma in time to catch her giving a rather fierce roll of her eyes. “Can we focus?” she mouthed to Daisy, planting her hands on her hips.
“Sure,” Daisy agreed easily, before turning to Fitz and speaking directly to him for the first time. “So, what are you doing here? I’m sure it’s probably not allowed to check out the product beforehand.” The amount of venom in her voice at the word ‘product’ caught him a bit off-guard, though it was only briefly; of course she wouldn’t be thrilled about being sold.
“I…uh…” Fitz winced, shooting a quick glance at Jemma, then deciding that it probably wasn’t the best idea to advertise the fact that he’d been following her.
Jemma interrupted then, waving a hand to get their attention. “Wait, Fitz…would you be willing to do something to help us?”
“Anything,” he answered immediately, nodding firmly. It wasn’t often enough, after all, that he got to help people rather than hurt them. And, well, this was Jemma asking, and though he didn’t know quite what it was that drew him to her, he knew that he’d do anything to figure it out, and simply to be around her.
“What are you thinking?” Daisy asked Jemma curiously, folding her arms over her chest.
Jemma gestured to Fitz, explaining, “You want to get out of here – Fitz may be able to help with that.”
-
“Would you really be willing to do that for me?” Daisy asked Fitz, her brow furrowing a bit skeptically. “I’m sure I won’t come cheap.”
Jemma turned her head to find Fitz’s mouth, in order to read his lips for his response (and wishing that he’d arrived a few minutes sooner, before her hearing had been turned back off and they could actually talk – she couldn’t help but wonder what his voice sounded like). “I have the resources,” he assured her, shaking his head to show that it was no problem.
Though Jemma let out a short sigh of relief at her hastily thought out plan of having Fitz purchase Daisy in order to secure her freedom actually being accepted by both parties, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness, of envy. If all went to plan, Daisy would be getting out of the Lighthouse and out of Kasius’s clutches in two days’ time – and, she would be leaving with Fitz.
But, she ignored the feelings that had her stomach twisting up in knots, instead focusing on the other two in the room with her.
“It’s a deal, then,” Daisy told Fitz, stepping closer to shake his hand, and adding with a little smile, “Thanks.”
“It’s nothing,” Fitz insisted, waving off Daisy’s gratitude, even though what he was doing for a perfect stranger truly was a lot. Then, suddenly, he turned to Jemma and asked seriously, “What about you?”
Startled by the question, Jemma raised her eyebrows and pointed to herself, asking, “Me?”
He nodded, sparing Daisy a brief glance before taking a step closer to her and reaching out to cup her shoulder. She could feel the heat of his skin through the thin material of her robes, and it had a shiver rolling down her spine. “Will Kasius sell you to me as well if I offer enough?”
Sucking in a sharp breath, she fought back the immediate surge of hope, of excitement, of relief, giving a short shake of her head. “No, no don’t – don’t bother.”
Fitz frowned, throwing a short glance toward Daisy, and Jemma noticed her shrugging out of the corner of her eye. “Why not?” he questioned, looking truly confused. “Don’t you want to be free of him, of this place? You deserve a better life than this, Jemma.”
Briefly, Jemma chewed her bottom lip, biting down a bit harder on it to keep the tears burning at the backs of her eyes at bay. “I can’t, Fitz,” she answered with another, sad little shake of her head. “Kasius only assures the safety of my parents as long as I’m in his employ.”
For a moment, Fitz didn’t react to the news, his expression remaining impassive. Then, she noticed his eyes growing stormy as they narrowed, his jaw setting slightly. For a moment, she was afraid that he was going to insist, but then he gave a sharp nod and agreed, “Alright.”
Taken aback slightly by the rush of sadness that swept through her, Jemma forced a smile. “Thank you. For…for helping Daisy.”
He gave another, short nod at that, then glanced over at Daisy once more before trailing his hand up from her shoulder, over her neck until it could curve along her jaw, leaving goosebumps in his wake. Then, he leaned in and forgetting all about Daisy still being in the room with them, Jemma closed her eyes and tilted her head up, filled with as much desperation to receive his kiss as she had been last night.
However, she then felt the tip of his nose trailing over her cheek moments before his lips settled there, searing her skin with their heat and branding her with his kiss. He lingered for a long moment, then finally drew back, and it took all of her strength to force her eyes to flutter open so as watch him as he stepped away from her.
Fitz then turned to Daisy, likely saying his goodbyes, then met Jemma’s eyes once more. And, though he only murmured, “Jemma,” in parting, the still-fresh memory of those lips against her skin and the intensity in his eyes had her breath catching painfully in her chest.
He was the first to break their gaze, moving back over to the door and slowly opening it, peering out into the hall to check that the coast was clear before shooting them one last, reassuring smile and stepping out, closing the door behind him.
For a lengthy moment, Jemma simply stared at where he’d been, simultaneously feeling as light as air, and as though there was a heavy weight in her stomach, dragging her further into the depths of despair than she had been in some time.
However, Daisy face abruptly replaced her view of the door, her expression a strange cross between amused and accusatory. “‘Nothing going on between us’ my ass!”
-
It was during the latest Inhuman exhibition when Fitz felt a tapping on his shoulder, and glanced up to find Enoch nodding his head toward the door leading out of the viewing area for the arena. A bit surprised to see him back already from the errand he’d sent him on earlier that day, Fitz rose from his seat, assuring Kasius, “I will return shortly.”
With that, he followed Enoch out of the viewing area, carefully closing the door behind them and leading the way a bit further down the hall so that they were less likely to be overhead. Then, he said, “Give me good news, Enoch.”
“The ‘good’ depends on your viewpoint,” Enoch replied, his lips tugging down into a frown and his brow furrowing.
Fitz wasn’t at all reassured by that answer, planting his hands on his hips and briefly closing his eyes as he inhaled a breath, then blew it out. “What do you mean by that?” he pressed. All he wanted to know was if he’d be able to somehow sneak Jemma’s parents out of the Lighthouse just before the exhibition and before he intended to purchase her and her friend, Daisy.
There was no way that he was leaving this hunk of rock without her by his side, after all.
“Jemma Simmons’s parents could not be located within the Lighthouse,” Enoch explained simply.
His eyebrows rising at that, Fitz shot a quick glance around to make sure that they were still alone, then hissed under his breath, “What does that mean, Enoch?”
“I inquired around about them,” Enoch began, “and I was eventually told that they were sent up to the surface many years ago now, to be ‘taken care of’ by the Vrellnexians.”
Sucking in a breath, Fitz dropped back against the wall behind him, absently reaching up to drag his hand through his hair. “So, they’re…they’re dead?”
“Presumably.”
“Shit,” Fitz breathed, letting his head fall back against the wall as well. How was he supposed to tell Jemma that her parents were already dead, and that they had been for many years? How was he supposed to tell her that Kasius had tricked her into being his loyal slave this whole time?
Abruptly, rage began to fill him on Jemma’s behalf; Kasius had had her parents killed, then lied to her for years about them still being alive just so that she wouldn’t attempt to escape. It was sickening, and it only fuelled Fitz’s desire to get Jemma as far away from him as possible.
Taking the time to inhale a steadying breath and to get his emotions under control, he then pushed away from the wall and said, “Thanks, Enoch,” before turning and heading back into the viewing area, retaking his seat beside Kasius.
“We were beginning to think that you had disappeared, Marauder,” Kasius told him, turning to him and arching his eyebrows a bit suspiciously.
“I was just having a chat with one of my crewmembers,” Fitz explained, slouching slightly in his chair and affecting the casual air that he’d spent many years perfecting. “Actually, we were discussing the usefulness of a servant with obedience of the likes of yours.”
“They are quite impressive, are they not?” Kasius preened, a proud smirk crawling across his lips.
“Yes, they are,” Fitz replied, fighting back his disgust with the man sitting beside him. “In fact, I would be interested in purchasing one of them.”
Kasius cocked his head slightly, but didn’t seem all that surprised by the admission. “Oh?”
“In fact, that one, that…that Jemma Simmons, she seems like just what I’m in need of.”
“I had noticed you admiring her,” Kasius confessed, carefully watching Fitz, as though waiting for him to suddenly reveal his hand.
“I’m sure that you have; you are quite observant,” Fitz responded simply, slipping in the compliment in hopes of swaying Kasius toward selling Jemma to him.
Kasius’s smirk grew at the praise, and he tilted his head this way and that as he considered. Then, finally, he answered, “I would be open to selling her, I suppose.” Fitz opened his mouth to make an offer, but then he went on, “But, I would only let her go with our final Inhuman, a Miss Daisy Johnson. Jemma Simmons is quite adept at motivating her and getting her to cooperate, it seems.”
Not at all deterred by the condition and confident that he could outbid everyone else there for Jemma and Daisy, Fitz said plainly, “Fantastic; then I’ll only need to make one withdrawal from my funds.”
Kasius gave an amused laugh at that, commenting, “You are quite confident, Marauder.”
“With good reason.”
-
With Kasius still keeping her away from his guests (or more likely, away from Fitz, which had her terribly concerned), it wasn’t until the morning of the day prior to Daisy’s exhibition that Jemma finally saw Fitz again.
She’d expected to be told to leave the dining hall upon her arrival, just as she had for every meal before it, but this time, she was surprised to find herself allowed to follow the other servants into the kitchen to retrieve dishes to be handed out to the guests. It had to be a good sign that she was being put back on duty to serve the guests, didn’t it?
She could only hope.
Jemma tried her best to keep her expression blank as she entered the hall them, to hide her eagerness to see Fitz again, but despite her best efforts, she had to bite back a smile when she immediately laid eyes upon him.
Even though he’d been in conversation with the man beside him, he turned his head at the exact moment of her arrival, as though he’d sensed her approach. His eyes widened at the sight of her, their depths burning with the same intensity that they’d had after he’d kissed her cheek the day before. She allowed her hip to just slightly brush his arm as she placed his plate in front of him, wanting to touch him, to be close to him however she could.
Jemma was just stepping back when he caught her eye, lifting his eyebrows the tiniest bit and glancing pointedly toward the doorway that the servants entered and left through for each meal. Understanding, she gave the slightest of nods, then followed the others to their places along the wall.
She was antsy throughout the rest of the meal, wondering what it was that he had to discuss with her that was so important. Had something gone wrong, and he could no longer purchase Daisy? Had Kasius said something to him about his association with her?
After what seemed like ages, Kasius rose from the long table first, lifting his hands grandly, likely announcing the match-up that they would be witnessing later that day. Then, he turned and swept out of the room, a handful of his guards, Sinara, and the guests following him.
Jemma stayed behind with the other servants, cleaning up after the meal, returning the dishes to the kitchens to be washed and disposing of the leftover food. Then, finally, they were allowed to leave, and Jemma lingered until she was the last one to exit the dining hall.
She only had to wait just outside the door for a handful of minutes before Fitz appeared, sharp gaze keeping watch for anyone potentially bearing witness their conversation. Reaching out to catch the sleeve of his jacket and giving it a slight tug to gain his attention, she prompted, “Fitz? What’s wrong?”
Fitz blew out a breath, his shoulders hunching slightly, as though a heavy weight was resting on them. For a moment, he looked at a loss for words, then he finally said, “I made Kasius an offer for you.”
Jemma’s heart leapt almost painfully in her chest, and her hands curled into fists at her sides as she was filled with two opposing reactions to the news. “Fitz! I told you – I can’t… My parents –”
“Jemma…” He closed his eyes for a beat, shaking his head slowly, and a sense of dread swept over her. “I had one of my crewmembers look into them, to see if we could get them out of here too…”
“And?” she prompted, her throat tightening as her hands began to shake slightly. At first, she felt a burst of affection for Fitz, for trying to rescue her parents for her, just so that he could save her. But, the affection was quickly replaced with fear, driven by Fitz’s less-than-inspiring reluctance to tell her everything.
Fitz sighed, then reached out to find her hands with his, carefully unfurling her fingers from the tight fists to lace them with his. “Jemma, they’re gone. I’m…I’m so sorry, but Kasius had them sent to the surface years ago.”
Jemma was abruptly hit with the sensation of having the wind knocked from her lungs, and she felt as though the floor had been pulled straight out from under her. “No.” It – it couldn’t be true, could it? Fitz had to have gotten the wrong information, he had to be mistaken; her parents couldn’t be…they couldn’t be dead. “No, I… Kasius said…”
“He lied to you, Jemma, he tricked you,” Fitz told her, his jaw tightening slightly as he spoke the words.
For one desperate moment, Jemma questioned whether she should believe Fitz or Kasius; she just wanted so desperately to believe that they were still alive. But, even through her desperation, she could still remember every dirty and underhanded thing that she’d witnessed Kasius doing, and Fitz had never given her any reason not to trust him.
And, well, her gut told her that she could, and she trusted her instincts.
But that meant…
Pressing her lips together to hold back a sob, Jemma noticed Fitz’s lips moving, but she couldn’t read them through the tears blurring her vision. However, she didn’t quite care what he’d said at the moment; instead, she dropped his hands in favor of falling into his arms.
She felt them wrapping protectively around her, one of his hands moving to cup the back of her head. His lips pressed to the bare skin of her neck, and she could feel them moving, mouthing over and over, “I’m sorry. Jemma, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Though she knew this was hardly the time or the place, she broke down there with him to hold her together, mourning for her parents, who she’d always hoped she’d get the chance to see again someday. But, all this time, they’d already been gone, they’d already been taken from her.
By Kasius.
And, at that reminder, Jemma abruptly pulled back from the embrace just far enough to catch Fitz’s eye. Eyes narrowing around the tears still standing in them, she told him determinedly, “Get me out of here.”
-
The day of Daisy’s exhibition had finally arrived, and Fitz was on high-alert, not willing to let anything get in the way of him purchasing her and Jemma and subsequently ensuring both of their safety. He wouldn’t be able to relax until they were all on his ship and far enough from the Lighthouse to be out of trouble.
He was on his way to the dining hall for breakfast, eager to see Jemma for what would likely be the last time before the exhibition (and he could still remember the feeling of her within his arms, and he could still remember how difficult it had been to let her leave them, where he couldn’t protect her and keep her safe), when he noticed Enoch approaching from the other end of the hallway.
Fitz paused, then moved to meet Enoch halfway, noting the slightest indication of apprehension in his expression. “What is it?” he questioned immediately, his body tensing in preparation of anything.
Enoch glanced around to check that they were alone, then informed him, “Another bidder arrived early this morning, and the others are saying that it is as good as over already.”
“Who is it?” Fitz asked, narrowing his eyes but refusing to be deterred. No matter what everyone else said, he was sure that he could still outbid them, whoever they were.
“It is Kasius’s brother, on the behalf of their father, with whom he has been trying to gain favor with for years now.”
Except if that was the case.
Blowing out a breath, Fitz dragged a frustrated hand through his hair, thinking quickly to try and come up with a new but just as effective plan as quickly as possible. It took a moment, but then it hit him. “Okay. Okay, here’s what we’re going to do…”
Once he and Enoch had hammered out the details, the two went then their separate ways. Fitz arrived at the dining hall late, all of the other guests already seated at the table, and he noticed Jemma standing in front of the opposite wall. She caught his eye straight away, and he noted the relief that crossed her features at his entrance.
Darting a short glance around and confident that no one was paying him any mind, he mouthed to her, “Trust me.”
Her brow furrowed in concern, but then she gave a short, barely perceptible nod.
Fitz was tense throughout the whole meal, and though he kept an eye on Jemma at all times, he also paid attention to Kasius’s brother, sizing him up. He was markedly different from his younger brother, much rougher and seemingly far more willing to get his hands dirty, which Fitz made a mental note of.
However, he diverted his attention from the brothers when Jemma came by to bring him his final course, subtly pushing his knife and fork off of the table and onto the floor. She startled at the movement, hastily bending down to retrieve them at the same time that he leaned over to do so as well.
She picked up the fork as his fingers closed around the knife, and he made sure to catch her gaze as he handed it to her, mouthing pointedly, “Keep it.”
Jemma sucked in a quiet breath, but took the knife and slid it up her sleeve, rising to set his fork back on the table beside his plate. He could only hope that she understood their escape wasn’t going to be as easy as they’d thought, and that she’d pass the message along to Daisy.
They were going to have to fight their way out there, and they all needed to be prepared for it.
-
Though she was trying to ignore it, Jemma was incredibly aware of the metal of the knife hidden up her sleeve as she followed a couple of other servants into the viewing area where Kasius and his guests were already gathered. Her gaze moved automatically toward Fitz, and was reassured to find him already watching her.
However, she also noticed that the other Kree that had joined them for breakfast that morning was there as well, and Kasius seemed to be falling all over himself to impress him, to give him whatever he desired. Abruptly, she had the sinking feeling that that was why their plans had changed, and why Fitz now had her arming herself.
It was a bit of a wait before Daisy’s exhibition began, and Jemma didn’t miss Sinara speaking with Kasius and then leaving, though she could only guess at what dirty work he had her carrying out this time.
But, when Daisy stepped out into the arena on one side not long after, and it was Sinara that entered on the other, Jemma darted a shocked glance at where Kasius was sitting. She’d never thought that he would sacrifice his top guard in a battle to the death.
Did that mean that Daisy wasn’t supposed to make it out?
Her sudden fear had her heartbeat quickening in her chest, but she forced herself ignored it; Fitz had a plan, and she had to trust that he knew what he was doing.
With the viewing area safely ensconced behind the protective barrier that Kasius only used for his most dangerous Inhumans, the fight began below. Daisy didn’t get off to the best of starts, Sinara rapidly gaining the upper hand, and Jemma could feel the metal of the knife growing slick as her palms began to sweat.
But, then Daisy tapped into the powers that Jemma had done her best to teach her to control, evening the fight out quickly. She also seemed to have some background in fighting skills, though they were obviously unpolished, and they also helped her hold her own against the skilled Kree warrior.
After some grappling for control of the fight, Daisy managed to knock Sinara unconscious, and Jemma noticed Fitz nodding out of the corner of her eye. She wasn’t sure what was about to happen, but she took a deep breath and watched as Fitz stood up suddenly, slamming the button that lowered the barrier and shooting a couple of the guards and guests.
Taking his cue, Jemma produced the knife and stepped up behind Kasius, slashing through the skin of his cheek and thinking harshly, this is for my parents.
He fell to the floor, and Jemma saw Daisy begin to rise with help of her powers, raising a hand to aid Fitz in taking out some of the people up there. However, it was only moments later that she went crashing back down, and Jemma noticed the remote that controlled Daisy’s powers in the hands of the other Kree with Kasius.
The win was only temporary, though, as Fitz then helped Jemma to leap over the side of the balcony, following close behind with a well-aimed shot that closed the protective barrier once more, with them safely on the other side. He landed on the platform beside Jemma, and she helped to steady him.
Then, his arm wound around her waist and even though they were far from home free, he paused for a moment, gazing into her eyes with that same fire that had been there for days now. Jemma felt it all the way down to her toes, one trembling hand curling in the material of his jacket to hold herself steady, lest she get swept up in it. She so wanted to lean across the remaining distance between them to find his lips with hers, but understood that it just wasn’t the time for such an indulgence.
Especially since, unfortunately, all of their problems were still there; Fitz broke the embrace then to fire a shot at Sinara, who was just waking from the hit from Daisy. Then, they climbed down off the platform, helped Daisy to her feet, and hurried to lead her out of the arena.
Fitz took care of all of the guards they came across as the three of them rushed through the halls of the Lighthouse as quickly as they could, until they finally arrived at a docking station. A ship was sitting there, the ramp already lowered, and the bald man that had never been far from Fitz’s side was waiting there for them.
They helped Daisy up the ramp, and Fitz gave her hand a quick squeeze before leaving them to hurry up to the cockpit, no doubt to tell the pilot to get them the hell out of there. While they were getting settled, Jemma took a quick look at Daisy’s leg, determining that it thankfully, wasn’t broken.
Just as she felt the ship taking off and saw the stars beginning to fly by through the windows along the side, a piercing sound filled her head, so sharp that it felt as though it was splitting her skull open.
-
“You’re sure about this, Fitz?” Mack asked a bit skeptically, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
“I think it’s a little late for that, Mack,” Fitz replied dryly as he leaned over May’s seat in the cockpit of the ship, double-checking their course, “but your concerns are noted.”
“I just think –”
Mack’s next words were cut off suddenly by the sound of a high-pitched, pained shriek filling the air, and Fitz straightened abruptly. “Jemma,” he gasped, spinning on his heel and racing out of the cockpit. He darted past Elena and Coulson, ignoring the questions that they both asked him and focusing on getting back to Jemma as soon as he possibly could.
And when he did, it was to find, much to his horror, that she was on the floor and writhing in pain, holding her head. Daisy, who was on her knees beside her and looking utterly helpless, looked up at him and explained in a rush, “She just started screaming! I don’t – I don’t know what happened!”
Fitz studied her in terrified silence for a brief moment, then turned to grab a tool from a nearby toolbox and dropped to his knees on her other side. “It’s her implant,” he told Daisy through gritted teeth. “This is Kasius’s doing.” With one hand, he caressed Jemma’s cheek, trying to get her to look up at him. “Jemma, Jemma, this is going to hurt, okay? I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
She nodded in understanding, curling one trembling hand around his, and he sucked in a breath before using the tool to enter her ear canal and searching for the implant. He did his level best not to pay attention to her pained shudders and instead focus on making the pain go away, finally grasping the implant with the tool and tugging it as gently as possible from her ear.
Jemma gasped sharply, sucking in deep, uneven breaths as the implant hit the floor of the ship with a clink. Brow furrowing in concern, he stroked his thumb over her cheek and asked softly, “Jemma? Are you alright?”
She inhaled another, short breath, her eyes shooting up to meet his. For a moment, she gazed up at him wordlessly, her lips parted slightly, and then she whispered, “I’m alright.”
It was the first time that Fitz had ever heard her voice, and he couldn’t quite help the way that his next breath got stuck in his throat. He wasn’t sure that he’d ever heard a more beautiful sound in his life. “Jemma…”
A smile broke across her face then, and she let out a soft, breathless little laugh that had Fitz thinking that, no, that was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. “That…that sounds even better than I thought it would.”
Letting out a quiet chuckle of his own, Fitz gently helped Jemma to sit up, then to her feet. He caught her when she wobbled slightly, her equilibrium inevitably a bit off from the removal of the implant. “Come on, let’s get that paint off of you.”
“Thank god,” she sighed, looping her arm around his waist and letting him lead her to the ship’s quarters.
It was some time later, after Fitz had gotten Daisy set up in her own quarters to get cleaned up as well, that he found himself standing on the deck and watching the endless expanse of space passing by the ship’s windows. He hadn’t wanted to leave Jemma’s side, of course, but Elena had offered to give her some of her clothes, and insisted on taking over helping her get settled, so he’d had no choice but to leave them to it.
Truly, though, he did appreciate that his crew was going along with his scheme to help two strangers escape slavery (Elena would no doubt soothe any of Mack’s worries in time); it made him especially grateful for the fact that he’d slowly begun to replace his father’s old crew with the new members that he’d happened to come across over the past year. The old marauders would’ve never gone along with it if there was nothing in it for them, after all.
And fortunately, they also didn’t seem to mind (much) that his reasoning behind the escape was a bit more personal in nature.
“I can’t remember the last time that I wore regular clothes.”
A fond little smile curving his lips at the voice that was quickly becoming more familiar to him than his own, Fitz turned from the view to the much lovelier one of Jemma approaching him. Her face was cleaned of the paint, her hair released from the braid it’d always been in every time he’d seen her on the Lighthouse, and her blue robes had been replaced with a pair of Elena’s pants, along with one of her shirts and a jacket.
“God…” Fitz breathed, stepping closer to meet her halfway. “You’re so beautiful.” Her cheeks flushed with color at the praise, and he lifted one hand to trail his fingertips across her bare forehead, then down the side of her face to gently run his thumb over her bottom lip.
She released a shaky breath, and he felt her hands sliding along his waist, gripping either side of his jacket in her fists. “I…I don’t know what I’d have done if you didn’t come into my life, Fitz. Thank you. You…you’ve saved my life.”
“No,” he argued lowly, shaking his head and shifting his hand to hold her cheek tenderly in the curve of his palm. “No, you’ve saved me.”
With that said, he finally leaned down across the remaining space between them, and she obviously understood his intent, her chin tilting up to meet him halfway as her eyes fell closed in anticipation. And, finally, his lips found hers, and he felt her fingers fisting even more tightly in his jacket in response, as though she was afraid that he’d disappear. He caressed her lips with his, his free hand slipping beneath the back of her jacket to bunch the material of her shirt within it.
They stayed like that for a handful of long moments, content to simply hold each other, and sharing deep, lengthy kisses interspersed with soft, short pecks, making up for all of the missed opportunities over the past few days. After a time, though, Jemma broke away to rest her forehead against his cheek, her breath coming out in soft puffs of air that tickled the skin of his neck. “Let’s just say…we’ve saved each other,” she offered in a murmur.
Turning his head slightly to press a loving kiss to the top of her head, utterly content now that he had her safely in his arms, Fitz agreed softly, “It’s a deal.”