Work Text:
“Simmons?” May calls into the room, she had not been present at lunch or dinner which slightly concerned the older agent. May had assumed that perhaps something urgent had happened but upon checking it seemed there had been no emergencies today. Jemma was just completely absorbed in her work, and had been since early that morning when May had dropped her off at the lab. When Jemma got into the zone, everything else just seemed to fall by the wayside. There were some scenarios where this could prove useful, in the field usually but right now May wanted to make sure the girl was looking after herself.
“Jemma?” She called out again, lightly tapping on the door. She didn’t want to just be too forceful and scare her but she cared about Jemma, a lot, and watching her run herself into the ground like this wasn’t healthy. The young scientist looked up finally and May gave her a smile, the kind only offered to those she cared about.
“You’ve been working all day, time to wrap up” May said, taking a few steps into the room. Clearly Jemma was still in the middle of something but she looked worn out, and May knew this was the right thing to do.
“I‘ll have some lunch soon, I’m half way through this” Jemma tried to offer, and May gave a small warm laugh regardless of the situation.
“Jemma, it’s 8 o clock at night” May told her, eyebrows raised just so meaning that Jemma didn’t have a choice in this. Deep inside, Jemma knew that May was right but she was stubborn and had lost track of time. She sighed a little but took May’s outstretched hand, reaching for a file to take with her with the other though upon the woman’s disapproving look at her she put it back down and simply followed her out the room.
“Would you like food first or do you need a shower?” May asked and it took Jemma a moment to register that the woman was giving her a choice. She itched at her skin, she did feel a bit gross from working so long and the girl supposed it would be nice to freshen up.
“I’ll shower” Jemma nodded, her hand dropping from May’s though she stayed close to the older woman.
“Okay, I’ll make some dinner for us both, and extra for Daisy when she inevitably asks. You shower and then meet us at the kitchen” May gave her a small smile and a gentle pat on the shoulder before heading off to the kitchen whilst Jemma headed towards the bathrooms.
Once she was suitably showered and back in her room to pick some clean clothing, Jemma realised she wasn’t sure what to pick. May had said dinner rather than supper but after a nighttime shower she always put pyjamas on though didn’t want that to make her look silly. She decided on some plain pyjama bottoms with a usual tshirt hidden by a cardigan just in case, heading back towards the kitchen. She could hear Daisy before she stepped inside but smiled at the other girl, slipping into a seat at the table beside her.
They chatted between themselves as May brought the food over and they all ate, it felt nice to just sit in relative comfort and peace like this since it was rare for them to have some down time. Daisy headed off after a little while and May had moved to the couch so Jemma decided to walk over and join in. Even though she did feel more comfortable with May than she ever had with her own mother or anyone else besides maybe Fitz for that matter, she still felt shy about wanting comfort from the woman. Thankfully, May seemed to notice this and allowed Jemma to snuggle up to her side, putting an arm gently around her she smiled a little at the girl settled next to her.
“We don’t get to relax often enough” May commented and Jemma gave a small nod, May had been flicking through the channels and left it on a nature documentary when the younger girl had joined her on the couch. The girl was engrossed in it now, and May was content to just watch her rather than the screen, seeing her eyes light up in a way they so rarely did any more. Other than interrupting gently when Jemma was subconsciously biting her fingers to offer a chew bracelet instead, May let the girl indulge in her interests. After all, she had more than earned it today even if a chat about healthier working habits was on the cards, May just wanted what was best for her pseudo daughter.