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Jemma Simmons excelled at preparation. Anyone who had spent an hour with her knew that. Fitz, her flatmate and best friend since the Academy certainly knew that. But, knowing that, even she felt like it was bit early to go shopping for Halloween costumes in June.
When Fitz offered to start thinking about their costumes so early, he probably thought they would just brainstorm for ideas and send each other pictures of ridiculous costumes found on Google for a few weeks. He'd proposed the idea with the excuse of September and October usually being too busy at Sci Ops to properly work on their costumes but she knew it really was to distract her from her recent break up. Which was really sweet because she knew how much he hated Milton and most likely thought it was good riddance. But she wasn't, in fact, sad, more kind of vexed and mostly preoccupied by some things Milton had said that she didn't know what to make of. Which was why she dove into this costume hunting so completely. She supposed they could use a little change anyway. They were falling into a routine with their traditional Doctor Who matching costumes and Jemma thought they could try something more Halloweeny for once.
So she started looking on the internet at first. After stumbling upon what felt like hundreds of costumes that were either too cheap, too impractical, ridiculous or just sexy versions of every regular costume imaginable, something finally caught her eye, the website for a Victorian clothing shop. The site was quite tacky but the dresses looked really nice and she immediately thought of Dracula. Well, really, the first thing she thought of when she looked at the male section was that Fitz would look terribly handsome in one of those suits but that was part of the things Milton had said and she was trying to avoid thinking of.
The physical shop was actually not too far and Jemma thought they could make it a trip on Saturday. She felt a little guilty for using her supposed sadness over the breakup to convince Fitz to use one of his days off to try on clothes, especially what he deemed to be ridiculously expensive and not comfortable suits, but he was really going to look fantastic in those so really, she was doing him a favor. Also, after years of wearing trench coats and oversized scarves, she really, really wanted a pretty Victorian dress that was form fitting and feminine and would make her boobs look huge.
She just hadn't anticipated how fantastic Fitz would look, Jemma thought as he got out of the changing room with the first suit on. The trousers were a little too long and would need tailoring and they would have to go shoe shopping but bloody hell, that was a good look on him. The dark grey trousers very were flattering for his slim figure, and even more around the fleshier parts of his lower body and the waistcoat, well, it was a crime he wasn't wearing one every day.
"Jemma?" he asked tentatively and she finally remembered to look up at his face, her cheeks feeling a little hot. Fitz clearly looked uncomfortable under her gaze as he tried to put his hands into the sealed pockets of his trousers. "I can uh-I can try on another one if you think—"
"No, no, no!" Jemma cut him off as she took a few steps towards him. Sometimes she forgot how terribly insecure her friend could be. He often said his brain was the only good thing about him and it broke her heart every time. "No, this looks really good. You look good, handsome really," she added before he could say something ridiculous about the suit looking good, not him.
"Really?"
"Yes!" she replied, smiling, before grabbing the jacket that completed the ensemble and giving it to him. He quickly put in on and Jemma took a few steps back to look him up and down. He really was distractingly handsome like this.
"So?"
"Perfect," Jemma replied as she came closer once more, adjusting the jacket around his shoulders. She'd been surprised when the salesman had suggested one size bigger than Fitz used to wear but he'd been right. And even though she loved Fitz's comfy cardigans, she had to admit that something more form fitting nicely highlighted how his upper body had developed since they first met at the Academy. "Yes, a few accessories and you'll be a perfect curly-haired Dracula."
Fitz rolled his eyes before looking at her suspiciously.
"You're not going to make me wear a wig, are you?"
The idea was tempting just for the joy of seeing him struggle to put it on and let out all the curse words in the English language but he'd let his hair grow again lately and it was just too cute and fluffy to flatten and hide them under a wig.
"No, I think I'm fine with you being a short haired kind of blond Dracula."
"Thank you! Now, do I really have to wear this?" he asked, almost pleading, nodding towards the cravat hanging over the side of the mirror, and Jemma grinned. She hadn't spent a whole hour looking at tutorials on how to tie those specific cravats for Fitz not to wear one. She grabbed it, put it around his neck and used it to pull him closer. He rolled his eyes but looked up and straightened his neck as best as he could. Jemma could swear there was also a little pink tinting his cheeks. Not very Dracula-esque but adorable.
"So, what do you think about the suit?" Jemma asked as she replayed the video in her head before getting to work on the cravat.
"It's bloody tight and uncomfortable."
"Oh."
"But anything to be the proper Dracula to your Mina," he quickly added. She thought for a second that he was teasing but then she looked up, saw the shy smile on his face and felt her heart melting at the sweetness.
"Awww, Fitz!"
His smile widened but it was still all tenderness and Jemma sighed, suddenly feeling all warm inside like she so often did with Fitz recently.
He did look a tad uncomfortable like that and she knew Fitz would have been perfectly happy going as another Doctor. Which made it even more thoughtful that he was trying so hard. In fact, ever since Milton had broken up with her, he'd been incredibly sweet. He always took care of her and even his grumpy side was much softer these days. Honestly, she would have had Milton break up with her sooner if she had known it meant Fitz was going to hug her so often and spend all his evenings cuddling with her on the couch and be generally so completely adorable and… Oh.
Oh no, Milton was right. Not a single original idea in the six months they'd been dating and now this. She had to give it to him that when he did have an original idea, it was a pretty big one.
Because of course, she was in love with her best friend.
She'd been trying to avoid thinking about it since Milton had told her it was the reason he was breaking up with her by diving head first into work and this whole Halloween costume hunting. She'd been trying to convince herself that every feeling she had for Fitz and every distracting thought was just normal for two friends spending pretty much every waking minute together. but somewhere, deep down, she had to know the delusion wouldn't last indefinitely.
"Jemma?!" Fitz croaked as he grabbed her wrists. "Can't breathe!"
"Oh god! Oh god, I'm so sorry!" Jemma cried out, immediately loosening the knot of his cravat before lifting his chin higher to check that she hadn't bruised him. Wonderful, she'd been in love for five seconds and already trying to kill him. Her flirting techniques really weren't getting any better. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'll live," he replied, his voice still a little bit croaky before noticing he still had his hands on her wrists and letting go quickly. "Sorry! Hum... so I-I won't have to wear it this tight, yeah?"
"Of course not! I got a little… distracted," Jemma replied, adjusting the now properly tied cravat. "There, perfect," she added, taking his shoulders and making him turn around to face the mirror. He smiled at her shyly through the reflection and she smiled back. He really was perfect, her wonderful, handsome best friend she loved more than anything in the world.
"So, what got you all distracted? Thinking of how you're going to make Milton regret his mistake with one of those décolletage…ed? dresses?" he asked and Jemma rolled her eyes. Milton wasn't a really a boob man actually but that was really the last thing she wanted to share with Fitz at the moment.
"Sure. Time to try those on then."
Giving Fitz one last look, she turned towards the four dresses she'd selected. Two red ones for Mina and two white ones that could possibly be good for one of the witches. The red ones did have a pretty impressive décolletage and with the corset, even her modest breasts would look quite generous. Next to her, Fitz, who was definitely a boob man, hadn't stopped looking at the red ones. Well, definitely Mina then.
Picking up the dresses, she walked to the fitting room and closed the curtain behind her. Halloween was still months away. She didn't know what would happen until then and if there was even a chance he could feel the same, but she knew they were both terrible at relationships and flirting and seeing signs of attraction from the other sex. And, it might be new but she was pretty sure that what she felt wasn't some crush that would go away.
They could use all the help they could get, even if it came in the form of a beautiful red dress she'd be seducing him with in five months.