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"We're not open yet!" Fitz shouted. "It's four in the bloody morning," he added, loud enough only for himself to hear as he slammed the sack of flour on the table. It had to be one of those drunk idiots who couldn't be bothered to find someplace that was actually open. Just because there was light didn't mean the bakery was open yet. What did they expect him to sell them? Raw flour and butter?
There was another, louder knock and Fitz's whole body tensed. Maybe flour and butter was exactly what he was going to give them. Right in their faces. It'd be a waste of good products but it would improve his mood for sure. Fitz loved his job and having his own fancy bakery, but even after more than ten years he still wasn't quite used to being up so early.
He marched to the door, with the intent of giving them a piece of his mind at least, only to stop a few feet away, his angry frown turning to a surprised one.
"Fitz, it's me," Jemma whispered-yelled through the door. "Your best friend, Jemma Simmons."
Fitz's lips pulled up as he shook his head.
"I know Jemma, I can see you through the glass door."
She giggled and Fitz moved to unlock the door before leaning against the door frame. She was wearing a cute and slightly distracting little black dress and her makeup wasn't as fresh looking as it must have been a few hours ago. She was still adorable though. A sexy, obviously drunk, panda bear.
She was flanked by two friends Fitz didn't know, who were both holding her arms. So maybe she was even drunker than she sounded and looked.
"Hi Jemma. You're up early," he said. The two friends smiled knowingly but Jemma just huffed and rolled her eyes so far back he thought she was going to topple backwards.
"I'm not up, I haven't gone to bed yet."
"Oh..." He made a show of looking at her clothes, as if he hadn't noticed them before, before shaking his head. "Of course. How silly of me! And you brought your bodyguards?" he added, nodding to her friends.
"They're my friends from work, silly!"
Fitz loved drunk Jemma with all his heart. She was still more brilliant than any other person he knew but she was always very literal and giggly.
"I'm Daisy and this is Bobbi," the brunette said before pointing to the tall blonde woman. "And so you are baker-boy," she added, grinning as she gave him a very not subtle once over. That made Fitz blush a little bit. Maybe Jemma wasn't the only drunk one.
"Uh yeah...so you've heard of me?"
"Oh yes!" both women replied in unison.
Fitz raised an eyebrow at Jemma but she just smiled. Their silent communication didn't work as well when Jemma was drunk. It started working better again if he got drunk as well but given that he was supposed to open in three hours, that wasn't an option at the moment. They'd met almost ten years ago when Jemma was a student and Fitz had just started his apprenticeship at the bakery. They'd sympathized about the then all new generation of Doctor Who and the astronomy book she had once forgotten at the bakery. He might have chosen baking but he'd always been good and interested in science when he was younger. He'd started keeping the leftovers for her every night and soon, they'd become the best of friends.
Ten years later, Jemma had her own lab and Fitz his own very popular bakery in one of the fanciest neighborhoods in Boston. They were still the best of friends but along the way, Fitz had developed feelings that were decidedly more than friendly. And really, when he saw her like this, all pretty and giggly and happy, how could he not? He was quite certain his feelings were unreciprocated but that was alright, he was already incredibly lucky to have her as his best friend, it would feel almost greedy to ask for more.
"She kept insisting on coming here and we thought we'd come along," the tall girl, Bobbi said. "Make sure she got here safely."
"Plus we really had to see," Daisy added. Bobbi elbowed her but she still grinned. "I totally get it now."
"Might have been an understatement really," Bobbi said.
The women shared knowing smiles and if Jemma was in on it, she didn't seem to register it and instead continued to smile dopily. Obviously she'd talked about him to them but what could she have possibly said? Was it about his bakery?
He was fine giving Jemma all the free pastries she wanted but if she started bringing friends along, he was going to have to protest.
"So um...what brings you here?" he said, turning back to Jemma.
"I'm very hungry and I remembered you always make croissants on Mondays."
"You know it's Saturday, right?"
"I know!" She pouted. She obviously didn't. "But I'd also die for your hot cinnamon buns."
Daisy seemed to choke on her saliva and Bobbi was obviously biting her lip to stop herself from laughing. She was apparently the least drunk of the bunch. There was also clearly something he wasn't in on but it was too early and he had too much work to spend more time trying to understand what was happening. Hopefully, sober Jemma would be able to tell him later.
"Alright. Well thanks for bringing her here, I'll handle her from now on."
"Oh I bet you will!"
After a little more whispering and giggling and weird pointed looks, the two friends finally hopped into an Uber and left Jemma wrapped around Fitz's arm as he walked back towards the back of the shop.
Fitz went to his little office to brew some much needed coffee --for both of them-- and when he came back, Jemma was sitting on a stool facing the counter expectantly like a hungry house cat.
"You know it will take at least two hours before anything's done, right?"
She pouted for a second but it soon turned into a big smile when he handed her the cup of coffee. She started sipping it, again not unlike a cat sipping milk, and just stayed there smiling at him.
"So...how was your evening?" he asked when it seemed obvious she wasn't going to say more on her own. Drunk Jemma was especially endearing because he didn't get to see her very often and he figured something must have happened for her to indulge quite this much.
She shrugged. "It was okay."
"Just okay?"
She shrugged again and Fitz chuckled as he started kneading the dough for his croissants. She did like his buns too but she was crazy for his croissants and there wasn't much he wouldn't do for her. Even change the precise schedule Jemma had helped devise when he'd opened his bakery a year ago.
"Did you have something to celebrate or..."
"That guy was hitting on me."
Fitz's stomach churned. He knew he had no right to be jealous but he felt like that every time she was going on a date or was just interested in someone.
"Oh. And he bought you drinks?"
"Nah. He was boring." Jemma started flopping back before she remembered she was on a stool, not a chair. "Daisy and Bobbi liked him though. They wanted to know what I like in a guy."
"Oh." Fitz's heart skipped a bit. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear that. Based on the type of guys she'd dated before, he didn't think he fit whatever her requirements were.
"So I said cute, obviously. I like cute the most." She straightened up and started counting on her fingers. "Not so freakishly tall that I'll have to twist my neck to kiss him. I must be able to talk science with him of course."
A soft smile started spreading on her lips and it became difficult for Fitz to focus on his dough.
"And he has to be funny and like Doctor Who and be a good cook and bake me nerdy cakes for my birthday."
Fitz's heart threatened to beat out of his chest. She didn't seem to be joking but she didn't seem even the slightest bit shy or hesitant. Was he completely misunderstanding her and she wasn't actually talking about him? Or maybe he'd just been so completely obvious about his feelings that she didn't even have a single doubt he would reciprocate those feelings she seemed to be confessing for him?
"So I had a tiny meltdown when I realized I was describing my best friend and that I was completely in love with him. So I drank a little bit to give myself courage to go and talk to him."
"A little bit?" was all Fitz could ask despite all the questions in his mind.
She giggled.
"I needed lots of courage. And then I wanted croissants so I came to see you." She straightened up and would have looked determined if it wasn't for her sleepy eyes. "But believe me Fitz, tomorrow I'm gonna go and see my best friend first thing in the...well probably afternoon. And I'll tell him I love him and his face and his eyes and how he smells of croissants and how good he looks in just a white t-shirt and his cute butt in a nice pair of jeans."
Jemma's look wasn't only sleepy now and Fitz didn't know if he wanted to kiss her, jump up and down in joy or maybe grab his phone and film her so that he could never forget this moment. Probably all of the above.
Jemma I-excel-at-preparation Simmons had just confessed her feelings for him out of the blue while being so drunk she didn't even realize he and her best friend were the same person. Unless she had another baker friend who'd baked her nerdy cakes for her birthday for the past ten years. But Fitz thought his odds were pretty good.
"And...uh...did you say all that to your friends?"
"Yeah! They're the ones who convinced me to go talk to Fitz. But I wanted croissants first."
Fitz couldn't contain the happy grin on his face. He supposed that explained the grins and looks. It was flattering to know these two attractive young women agreed with Jemma but right now, there was only one woman's opinion that mattered to him. And she was currently facing him, looking at him with a sleepy smile and like she might fall asleep on the spot.
He wanted to tell her he felt the same, had for so long, take her in his arms and kiss her. But she didn't even realize she was talking to him about him, she was way too drunk to hear his confession.
"Well, I'm sure he'll appreciate it and feel the same," Fitz said as he abandoned his dough for a moment and walked around to gently take her arm. "In the meantime, how about you go take a nap upstairs and I'll bring you pastries when they're ready?"
She yawned and let her head fall on his shoulder so Fitz took it as a yes.
He walked her upstairs, to his comfortable flat and directed her to the bed. She let herself fall gracelessly onto the covers and started snoring within five seconds. Fitz chuckled. Once she was sober and he'd confessed his feelings as well, he was going to make SO. MUCH. FUN. of her. His wonderful, brilliant, silly best friend and love of his life.
He put a bottle of water on the bedside table, took her shoes off and a blanket over her, then went back to work.
Two hours later, Fitz heard footsteps coming from the stairwell connecting his flat to the bakery and his heart stopped for a minute. He looked up from his dough, trying to keep his expression as gentle and neutral as possible. He couldn't wait to have that conversation with her but he was also a little scared that she'd changed her mind, decided it was all just a silly drunken thought, that she wasn't really in love with him.
"Are those croissants I smell?" she asked, looking adorably disheveled with her messy hair and his too big cardigan around her shoulders. She must have used the bathroom though because her face was free of all make up. Even with dark circles under her eyes, she was still the prettiest thing he'd ever seen in his entire life.
"Yeah, they're for you."
An ecstatic smile spread across her lips as she grabbed one and started munching on it. Hungover Jemma wasn't quite as strict about never eating junk food. Although he refused to call his pastries junk food and so did the food critics who’d visited Just What The doctor Ordered. Words like divine and sinful had been used on more than one occasion.
When she was done, she took a few steps closer, holding his cardigan tightly around her.
"So hum...did I really say all the things I remember telling you?"
Fitz grinned and stopped pretending to continue kneading his bread. "Yes."
"Did I say tell them to you as if I was speaking of someone else?"
"Yes."
She bit her lip.
"But you did understand that I--"
"Well, unless you know another baker who loves Doctor Who and has a cute butt..."
She dropped her face in her hands and groaned. Fitz walked around to face her and pulled her hands down as he tilted her chin up.
"By the way, I've also been meaning to talk to you about that friend I have a crush on." She opened a careful eye to finally look up at him.
"She's pretty, wicked smart, loves Doctor Who --bit of a nerd I guess-- always smells of lavender although sometimes there's gin mixed with that. An embarrassingly light weight by the way. And well...since you went there, she has very, very nice...lips. Very kissable."
She had that same look in her eyes she had earlier but this time completely focused on him. He took the last step separating them. "So do you have more of that gin to give me a little courage so I can go and tell her that I'm--"
She crashed her lips to his before he could finish his sentence. Fitz wanted to believe it was out of overwhelming lust but it was probably more out of need to shut him up and because she was still quite unsteady on her legs. Still, when he wrapped his arms tightly around her and she sighed happily against his lips, Fitz thought it was the most perfect kiss he'd ever had.
"Mmmh, croissants and Fitz," she whispered when they broke the kiss and Fitz's lips pulled up again. He didn't think he was ever going to be able to stop smiling.
"So, is it better to kiss me or your best friend or baker boy or..."
She kissed him again, this time very deliberately hot as she went on her tiptoes and practically melted into his embrace.
He was breathless when she pulled back.
"You realize that if you do that every time you want to shut me up, I'll never stop teasing you, right?"
She swatted his chest weakly.
"You really mean all those things you said?"
Her eyes were sparkling despite still looking quite sleepy. And it was something Fitz didn't think he'd ever get used to when it was directed at him.
"About my best friend, you mean? Yeah she's a great girl, you should meet her, I think you'd like her."
"Fitz!"
"Of course I do." He reached up to put a strand of hair behind her ear. "I love you, Jemma. I've loved you for years, really but I just...Took you long enough to catch up, smart girl."
She pretended to look offended.
"Well I can't believe you knew all this time and you didn't tell me. We could have been kissing like that for years."
Fitz shook his head. "Alright, enough with the teasing." Fitz was willing to bet there'll be a lot more coming her way from her friends. "What now?"
Jemma smiled as she went on her tiptoes again and wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him languidly, tasting of croissant and her wonderful self.
"I love you my baker-now-boyfriend-Fitz," she whispered against her lips. "I'm going to go back to bed and hopefully we can kiss some more when you're done working."
With that, she grabbed another croissant, turned around and walked back to his flat. It took Fitz a whole minute to shake himself out of his daze. But then he shook his head and quickly went back to work, smiling from ear to ear. The faster he was done, the faster he could take a break.
Maybe he didn't mind drunk people knocking on his door as much after all.