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It was Fitz’s idea to watch the movie, Skye had simply agreed, admitting she hadn’t seen a lot of the horror films Fitz suggested they watch for that night’s movie. Jemma hadn’t originally even wanted to watch the terrifying flick, but it was movie night and seeing her friends on the sofa sharing popcorn and excited looks she couldn’t just walk away. Plus, The Bus wasn’t that big and it would be hard to avoid their joyful screams and not feel like she was missing out.
She was glad that Fitz was opening up to Skye. Normally he was very shy when meeting new people and he had admittedly been rather awkward around the hacker at first. Now and again Jemma did feel an odd pang of jealousy whenever she heard Fitz laughing at one of Skye’s jokes or when he explained one of his designs to impress her, but that was completely normal, right? It’s always odd when one’s best friend becomes friends with someone else and it’s completely normal to get a twinge in the chest whenever they give their new pretty friend sideways looks. It’s completely normal that Jemma felt this way and, every now and again, to wish that he looked at her with those sideways glances and little smiles. Completely. Normal.
“Are you sure you want to watch this, Simmons?” Fitz asked as Jemma moved the popcorn bowl to sit by Fitz after having forced her feet forward towards the pair.
“Of course? Why wouldn’t I?”
Jemma shifted farther back into the cushion, bringing up her legs to sit mermaid style on the couch. Her knees fell onto Fitz’s pajama-clad lap and she absentmindedly scooted closer to him, not noticing when Skye shot the pair a curious little smirk.
“Uh--you hate scary movies,” Fitz replied, picking the popcorn back up from where Jemma set it down.
Jemma scoffed. “I don’t hate scary movies, Fitz. I just simply haven’t watched the right ones.”
“Okay. But don’t forget that I warned you.”
It was a bad idea. It was a very, very bad idea. They were only halfway through the movie and Jemma was already wishing she hadn’t started watching it. The only comfort was that Fitz and Skye seemed to be just as frightened as her. Okay, maybe not quite as frightened but at least enough to make Jemma not feel so alone in her fear.
At what felt like the fiftieth jump scare, Jemma screamed so loud that Fitz had to shake his head to stop the ringing in his ear and Ward shot his head out of his bunk door to tell them to keep it down, Skye shouting a “Can do, Grandpa!” before his door slammed. When the scares continued, Jemma, tired of suffering through the movie with only a pillow to comfort her, dove her face into Fitz’s chest, grabbing onto his t-shirt for strength. He wrapped his arms protectively around her shoulders, curling her into him and lightly stroking her arm. He gently tucked her loose locks behind her ear, his nimble engineer’s fingers sending a shiver down her spine.
Skye, meanwhile, had turned her sweatshirt around so that the hood was on the front, giving her the perfect blindfold when needed. She sat with her knees tucked to her chest, her fingers gripping the hood in case of emergency as it sat under her nose. There was a whole ten-minute chunk of the movie that only she listened to, the hood up over her face to block out the gore. Fitz was faring the best, only because he had seen the film before. Any jumpscare he forgot, however, caused him to yelp in fear, his hands clutching tighter onto Jemma.
When the film was over, Skye stood up from the couch and began ranting about the film’s cliffhanger ending. Fitz laughed lightly and the sound became amplified in Jemma’s ear, her head still lying comfortably upon his chest.
“That sucked! I mean it was great, but what the hell! They’re just going to leave it like that?” Skye yelled, shoving a handful of cold popcorn into her mouth with a fury.
“It’s suspenseful,” Fitz countered. He was still stroking Jemma’s hair, the gentle, tenderhearted gesture slowly calming Jemma’s nerves as adrenaline drained from her body, leaving her shaking and jittery.
“Okay, yeah. But I stand by my ‘what the hell’ statement.” Skye yawned loudly, stretching her arms up to the plane’s ceiling. “Alright, nerds. I’m going to bed. I have to hit a punching bag with Ward tomorrow, so wish me luck.”
“Good luck with that. Goodnight, Skye.”
“Night!”
As Skye retreated to her bunk, Fitz tilted his head to look at Jemma. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was tightly closed.
“Simmons, are you alright?” Fitz asked, his fingers deftly swiping away the irritating strands of hair that had fallen into her eyes.
Jemma nodded quickly, plastering a smile on her face as she sat up and away from him. The moment she was out of his personal bubble, she felt a rapid drop in the temperature around her, the feeling making her crave his warmth.
“Yes, Fitz. I’m alright, thank you. I’m just going to go to bed. Goodnight.”
Jemma hopped up from the sofa and ducked into her bunk, leaving Fitz in the common area, a confused look stuck to his face. Jemma could hear his pattering footsteps as he opened the door of his bunk, the one adjacent to hers. She could hear him prattling about as he readied himself for bed before the whole Bus went quiet.
When she closed her eyes, the distant sounds of the plane’s engine transformed. The whirrs and buzzes around her morphed into the monster of the movie and her body went cold. She felt so silly! She was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for crying out loud, she couldn’t let a stupid scary movie get to her! But, it was no use. Perhaps it was how tired she was and perhaps that particular film had just hit her funny. Whatever it was, her bed felt bitterly cold and her dark bunk unbelievably lonely.
Quietly and carefully, Jemma slipped out of her covers and padded to her door, sliding it open with as much delicacy as she could muster in her tired and anxious state. The tips of her toes gently touched the ground with every tiny step, though her racing heart wished her to move faster. Finally, she reached the solid grey door of Fitz’s bunk and her breath steadied. Normally she would knock but she didn’t want to risk the noise, choosing instead to softly slide open the door, calling his name softly into the darkness.
“Fitz?” Jemma whispered into the cluttered bunk, Fitz’s spare sketches covering his little work desk and his clothes peppering the ground.
There was a rustle of sheets and covers as Fitz dazedly turned to face her, squinting to try and make out her figure in the dimness of the night.
“Jemma? What’s wrong?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” Jemma replied sliding the door shut behind her before tip-toeing to the side of his bed.
“I told you you wouldn’t want to watch that movie,” Fitz sighed, scooting over to the far side of his small bed. His curls were wonky, an entire chunk sticking up sideways, and his words were groggy with sleep.
“Really? An ‘I told you so,’ Fitz?”
“Well, I did.”
Jemma huffed with her hands on her hips. But her gesture quickly turned shy as her fear perked its head up once more, the plane having groaned in its flight.
“Is it okay if I lay by you tonight, Fitz? I can’t stand my bunk.”
Even in the dark, Jemma could make out Fitz’s wonderful shy smile. “I did scoot over, didn’t I?”
Jemma mimicked his upturned lips and gently climbed under the Fitz warmed covers. As she slipped into the bed, her toes brushed against the exposed part of his calf where his pant leg had ridden up, causing him to take in a sharp breath.
“Bloody hell, Simmons, your toes are freezing!” Fitz whispered into her ear as she tucked herself against him.
“Sorry,” she giggled back, tucking the blanket up under her chin. To her surprise, Fitz found her feet with his, gently placing them over hers to warm them.
“Remind me to get you cozy socks or something because I have no idea how you live like that.” She could feel his quiet chuckle more than she could hear it and she smiled at the grey shadow-covered door.
“Okay,” she whispered back as sleep tugged at her eyelids, “I’ll hold you to that.”
No more words could come to her as her brain drifted into the realm of dreams. And, tucked against Fitz’s chest, no scary movie nightmares could get her.