Work Text:
Skye is late, and as though being late is like a second nature to her, it’s the most inconvenient thing to be in her current position. She is late for a meeting with Jemma Simmons, and that might as well be the death of her.
There are about a million things she needs to do before she can actually start that meeting, one of which is getting her that Chai Green Tea with a splash of frigging soy milk. It tastes horrid to Skye, but if the boss orders, she delivers. Another thing she needs to do before that meeting is get dressed and read through a stack of files. The first she can do, the latter she’s not so sure she’ll manage before the meeting actually starts.
With five minutes to spare she tumbles into the office floor and sets the two cups down on her desk. Chai Green Tea with a splash of soy milk for Ms. Simmons, and a cappuccino for herself.
“Rough morning, Skye?” her colleague Bobbi Morse asks from the cubicle next to her and she scowls.
“Don’t get me started.”
Skye rearranges the folders on her desk and tries to memorize what they were about. Genome sequences, firewall productivity and surveillance reports, bio-engineering and the production of icers. It was a haphazard pile of miscellaneous subjects she had to fill Jemma in on, and everything dazzled her.
She has just sit down at her desk with a sigh when a message bubble pops open on her laptop screen.
[The Witch is on her broom!]
Around the floor the same message pops up; Skye can hear the sounds. The people that were chatting with neighbours scurry to their respective cubicles immediately, Lance Hunter pretends to man the copy machine, Leopold Fitz is suddenly very busy with studying the statistics board and Skye leaps to her feet too quickly. One of the cups standing on her desk topples over and spills onto her freshly dry-cleaned tailored pants.
“Fuck,” she groans looking down. A dark spot is spreading over her thigh and she throws her head back. Of course this would happen to her today, of all days. She met with Simmons all the time, but today was an important day, because today she would maybe get that promotion she was waiting for because finally there was a job opening at IT. She had been working her ass off for this promotion, attending meetings and events around the clock, working extra shifts and picking up extra assignments. She hadn’t been home with her family for ages, but she needed the job and she was pretty sure Jemma knew that too.
She can’t go to this meeting with her boss in these pants. She can’t. It would mean the end of her, and Skye isn’t ready for her life to be over.
“Bobbi!” she hisses and pokes her head around the thin wall. She arches an eyebrow at her, and in the back of the floor the elevator pings. Shit.
“Yeah?”
“I need your skirt.”
“You need my what-now?”
“Please? I have a meeting with Simmons in one minute and there’s a coffee stain in my pants the size of Texas. Rumour has it you carry a spare outfit.”
“I do.”
“So give me your skirt.”
“I...”
“I don’t want to lose my –“
“Skye!”
“Yes, ma’am?” Skye yelps when Jemma Simmons appears next to them in a crisp navy blue suit. Tie and all, looking impeccable.
“My office please. Now.”
“Right away, ma’am.”
Skye smiles at her boss, and Bobbi grins. There was no way in hell they had time to change clothes.
“Don’t come asking me for any favours, Morse,” Skye mumbles in passing while dabbing her pants. She’s very glad she wore all black all of a sudden. She picks up the remaining cup, realising that it’s her cappuccino that spilt – thank god -, grabs the files and hurries over to Simmons’ office.
As soon as the door drops shut behind her, Jemma is already sitting behind her desk.
“Nice suit,” she says with pursed lips, her accent crisp as ever and Skye feels the heat creeping to her cheeks, but she doesn’t get any time to explain, “Look. I need you to come get me in Coulson’s office in exactly ten minutes. I don’t care which excuse you come up with, make something up about a server crash or something. Faulty genome sequences, an emergency, anything. Just get me out of there, okay?”
“Okay.”
In her time working with Simmons Skye had learnt not to ask too many questions. It would only earn her pointed looks and scowls. Keeping quiet and doing what was asked of her booked better results and kept their relationship... healthy.
“Thank you. Oh, and change your trousers. I have a spare one. I’ll see you in exactly ten minutes. Don’t be late, Skye.”
Jemma is already out the door before Skye can answer, so she just nods to herself. She needs an excuse, and new trousers. The pants she finds hanging on a coat rack and even though Jemma seems more petite than Skye, the pants fit.
It happened often enough that Skye was called in for a meeting, and that Jemma got called into a meeting of her own. Usually it was with one of the men higher up, mostly with Coulson. He was the boss, even though everyone knew that even he was a little afraid of Jemma Simmons, who had been running the science division successfully for the last five years.
“Skye?” Bobbi asks and pokes her head into the office.
“Yeah?”
“Did you get fired?” She grins and Skye rolls her eyes at her.
“I’m gonna get you fired, how about that,” Skye says and smacks her with a file while walking out of the office with three minutes to go. “I’m gonna rescue the witch from AC now, though. You can send out the message; I’m pretty sure we’ll be back in five.”
“Roger that.”
The elevator brings her up to the top floor that gives them an incredible view of the city and holds one single office. She knocks, but doesn’t wait for an answer while stepping inside.
“Excuse me, gentlemen? Ms. Simmons, we –“ Skye asks and keeps the door open. She holds the file with the fake emergency up in the air for everyone to see, but she’s cut short by a nervous smile from no one less than Jemma Simmons herself. Skye doesn’t think she’s ever seen her nervous, or with an emotion other than stern dedication to be quite honest, so she’s taken off guard for a second.
“Yes, Skye?” Coulson demands and he and Fury give her a puzzled look.
“Sorry to interrupt, but there has been an –“
“Skye! There you are. We were just discussing... It’s good you’re here.” Jemma waves her inside and Skye walks over, standing awkwardly next to her boss who seems to be winging the conversation entirely at this point, “Coulson, sir, I assure you there’s no need to worry. They can’t send me back to the UK, because... I am in fact... getting married!? Yes, and Skye and I wanted to solidify everything before telling you, because you know how rumours spread. But it’s true, we are... getting... married!”
“You are?” Coulson asks, trying to prevent his jaw from slacking.
“We are?” Skye asks and Jemma smiles unconvincingly. She grabs Skye’s hand and squeezes so tightly it hurts.
“We are! Yes, so happy!” Skye blurts and smiles weakly while Coulson and Fury just blink at them.
“And how long has this been going on exactly?”
“No, we –“
“Six months,” Jemma interrupts and Skye nods. “Six.”
“It wasn’t love at first sight,” Jemma explains, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, and Skye shrugs. “It wasn’t.”
“But we fell in love... and now we’re getting married. You know how it gets. Events on the weekends, long nights together at the office. Wouldn’t be the first time someone fell for a PA, right?” Jemma laughs, “but it happened! So are we good, are we happy? Because we are!”
Jemma’s grip on Skye’s hand becomes impossibly tighter and Skye has to refrain from saying ‘ouch’. “We are! Very.”
“Well, girls. If you sort everything out, we’ll be the happiest men on the block. We’d be very sorry to see you go back and lose you to BioTech,” Coulson says and claps his hands together.
“It’ll be sorted, sir. Don’t worry, I’ll put a ring on this beautiful woman in no time,” Jemma says and pats Skye on her stomach. “Let’s go, darling.”
“Gentlemen,” Skye nods and follows Jemma out of the office.
They say nothing until they reach the elevator, and even then Jemma refuses to look at her.
“Jemma –“ Skye tries, but Jemma will have none of it. She just brushes past her office and picks up her coat. She motions for Skye to follow her outside and puts on her coat.
“Getting married? Are you out of your mind? No way am I marrying you so you can keep your job, Jemma Simmons. You can’t expect that of me, and besides it’s illegal,” Skye hisses when she can no longer contain herself.
“We need to get going.”
“Excuse me? You’re not going to explain?”
“It’ll be done before you know it and we’ll file for a quicky divorce after the restricted time. No big deal.”
“No big deal?”
“Come on. I’ll treat us to lunch after.”
“Lunch?”
Jemma Simmons had to be kidding, but Skye knew her long enough to know that she wasn’t.
“Where are we going again?” Skye says and ignores the stares of their colleagues. Jemma had been right, rumours spread quickly around here and she can feel a furious blush settling on her cheeks.
“The immigration office,” Jemma answers plainly and presses the elevator button, “we need to file for our engagement.”
“I’m lost. Why are we going to the immigration office?”
“Because I worked overseas in Europe while my visa application was still under review. I wasn’t allowed to leave the country, I did, and now your wagon is wired to mine.”
“So you made a stupid mistake and now I’m stuck with you.” Skye flags a cab and Jemma gives the cabbie the address. Skye is fuming.
“Oh please, it’s not like you were saving yourself for someone, was it? You have spent the last two and a half years with me. We’re practically married already. Plus, you have been working your ass off for a promotion, and I can send your career into the ditch with a click of my mouse,” Jemma states simply.
“I... You... That’s blackmailing,” Skye grumbles while they step inside the crowded waiting room, but Jemma doesn’t seem to be messing around. She fishes the paperwork they allegedly need from her purse and ushers Skye to the front of the line where she puts the file on the counter. “You need to think about your priorities, miss Skye,” Jemma says with a dazzling smile before turning to the employee.
“Hi, I need you to file this fiancée visa employment form for me please.”
The guy arches an eyebrow at them for skipping the line, but flips the cover anyway. “Ms. Simmons?”
“Yes.”
“Follow me, please.”
He leads them into a tiny office where Skye sits down in one of the crappy chairs.
“Someone will be with you shortly.”
Jemma nods, and sighs.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Skye says and buries her face in her hands, but Jemma doesn’t seem to be the least bit unfazed by the entire situation.
“It’ll be fine. Priorities, remember.”
They have to wait for what feels like two thousand years, and Skye isn’t even exaggerating. She’s hot, she’s probably sweat right through her deodorant and she’s getting tired and impatient. Finally the door opens and another guy in a crappy two dollar suit steps inside. “Hi, sorry for the wait. I’m Mr. Koenig. It’s hectic. So, you must be Skye,” he says with wild gestures and turns to shake her hand. She smiles and nods, “and Ms. Simmons.”
“Yes. No problem, we understand. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice regardless, sir.”
Koenig sits down at his desk and ruffles through some files, clicks his pen and looks up at them with a faux smile that sends shivers down Skye’s spine. “Alright! Okay, so I have one question! Are you both committing fraud so that Ms. Simmons here can keep her position as CEO of the Science Division at S.H.I.E.L.D and avoid being deported to the United Kingdom?”
“What?” Jemma asks.
“Ridiculous,” Skye says with a shake of her head.
“Where did you hear that?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Alright! Then you will have no problem getting through the next steps, I imagine. Step one would be an interview, with a skilled interviewer who will ask you all the questions a real couple should know about each other. Then, I dig deeper. I will chat to your family and friends, I will look into your phone records and office hours. No stone left unturned.”
“Perfect. If you get us to that next step we’ll be out of your hair and on our –“
“If your answers don’t match, you,” he goes on uninterrupted, looking at Jemma, “will be deported to the UK and have zero chance of returning here ever, and you,” he says, turning to Skye, “will have committed a felony punishable by a fine of 250.000 dollar and a stay of five years in a federal prison!”
He smiles that smile again, and Skye looks at the man as if he has slapped her overhead with a brick and poured hot coffee in her lap. Jemma’s face still doesn’t show any signs of nerves and Skye nods, a mixture of pure unadulterated fear and nausea swirling through her body.
“So! Is there anything either of you wishes to tell me now?” Koenig says with the same smile, but Skye shakes her head.
“Nope.”
“Are you sure?”
“No. There’s something I need to tell you,” Skye says and stands up. She runs a hand through her hair and coughs out a laugh. For a moment a flash of fear crosses Jemma’s face, “See the truth is... that Jemma and I... are in love. We are two people who weren’t meant to fall in love, but we have. We have, and if all this bureaucratic nonsense is needed to show you that this is a once in a life-time love, we will. Now, honey. Is there anything you wish to tell Mr. Koenig?”
“I surely do not.”
“Then we will wait for your call. Good afternoon,” Skye says with a light smile and gets up from her seat.
“Great. Lunch!” Jemma claps her hands together excitedly and holds the door open for Skye, who crosses the threshold with clammy hands and a racing heart.
“I can’t believe we just did that,” Skye says. She’s still a little out of breath and shakes her head. She had broken the law before when she hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D, but that earned her a job there to begin with. Coulson was impressed, but didn’t have a job at IT for her at the time, so she ended in the Science Division as Jemma Simmons’ personal assistant. Which was fine, but Skye hoped to achieve something bigger some time, but if Koenig found out that they were in fact committing fraud so that Jemma wouldn’t get deported and lose her job, she would not only have lost her shot at a job in IT, but also have a record.
“There’s this charity event this weekend I’d like us to attend. Coulson and Fury will be there, as well as May and Maria Hill. It will give us the opportunity to make this more believable.” Jemma has been chatting to her as if nothing happened at all.
“I haven’t agreed yet. And I have plans this weekend,” Skye snarls. The plate of food in front of her is left untouched, even though she’s hungry.
“Plans?”
“Yeah, plans, Jemma. I have a life, you know. I finally have the weekend off and I plan on spending it with my family in Alaska.”
“Alaska.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re going to have to cancel. You have to do this for me. I will get you a raise,” Jemma counters plainly, but Skye shakes no.
“The least I want is a bloody promotion, and I want to be in the IT department where I belong.”
“Fine. I’ll talk to Coulson on your behalf.”
“Also, if I agree, and only if, I want you to come with me this weekend and play this whole theatrical act of yours in front of my family. We will be married for at least the duration of one year, or we’ll hear that we are ruining the sancticity of marriage.”
“Your family?” Jemma gulps and Skye nods.
“Yeah. My grandmother celebrates her eightieth birthday this weekend, and my parents have been nagging me for ages about getting married and settling down, so this is the perfect opportunity for me to earn some daughter-points with them. After that, I will play any theatrical act in front of your boss you want.”
“This weekend?”
“Is there a problem, Ms. Simmons? Or would you like me to book you a flight to London?”
“Not a problem.”
“Good, then there’s one thing left to do,” Skye says and rests her arms on the edge of the table, leaning forward a little with a coy smile, “ask me nicely.”
“Sorry?”
“If I’m getting married, I want to be proposed to nicely.”
“Okay... Marry me.”
“No.” Skye shakes her head and leans back in her chair. “That’s not a proposal.”
“I asked!”
“Nicely.”
Jemma scoffs and slips out of her seat. She drops her napkin on her chair dramatically and clears her throat before forcing a smile on her face. She takes Skye’s hand and clears her throat. Skye didn’t think she would actually go through with this, or go through such lengths to actually get Skye to agree. In all fairness, Skye had hoped that Jemma would back out of this after all her talk about grandparents and Alaska and family gatherings. She had hoped that Jemma would realise that there probably were plenty of people she could trap into marrying her, but apparently she was just as stuck in this arrangement as her boss was.
“My dearest Skye,” Jemma starts and actually gets down on one knee then, much to Skye’s surprise. She’s so surprised that playing getting proposed to suddenly isn’t so hard anymore. Her jaw drops, and her eyes grow wide. “I know we haven’t been together for a very long time, but...”
Around them people seem to be picking up on the proposal and a lot of heads turn. The waitress even stops doing what she’s doing, which isn’t much, and clasps her hand to her chest with quite literal heart-eyes. Oohs and aahs fall around them and Skye gulps.
“... but will you... marry me?” Jemma concludes and Skye barks out a laugh. “Yes.”
People applaud around her and Skye pulls Jemma to her feet and into a hug that takes her boss by surprise. “You should kiss me,” Skye whispers in her ear when Jemma’s arms wrap around her waist and Jemma snorts. “You’re pushing it.”
Her hours at the office haven’t been the same since Skye rescued Jemma from Coulson’s office. The rumour spread like a wildfire, and everyone was informed of the pending wedding. The wildest theories came to light, that Jemma had indeed bribed Skye to marry her, because she didn’t want to give her a raise. They also thought that maybe Skye had a thing for slightly older women with an attitude. Or, which was maybe Skye’s favourite, that they were actually in love and had managed to fool the entire office for years.
“I still can’t believe it,” Bobbi says the next day and sets an Avenger mug down on Skye’s desk. The hacker looks up at her with a grin on her face and shrugs.
“Then don’t, but it’s true. I’m marrying her, Bobbi. I don’t really know how it happened, but we’ve been dating for a while, and we fell in love somewhere during the events on the weekends and the late hours. Once you get to know her she really isn’t so bad,” Skye lies easily and rolls her eyes, “such a cliché. She proposed to me, and I said yes. I’m bringing her to meet my family this weekend.”
“You’re taking her to Alaska?”
“Yeah. We’re serious about this. I was hoping that you’d be supportive of this, seeing you’re my friend and all.”
“Sure, Rockstar. I’m already happy to see you happy. There’s a glint in your eyes that I haven’t seen in a while, not after you broke up with Ward.”
“Thank you.”
If she could sell it to Bobbi Morse, they might be able to sell it to everyone.
“For a second I thought you were going to sell me out, you know,” Jemma says later that week and Skye looks up from a file she is reviewing.
“I’d have sold myself out. Plus, I just wanted to see that look on your face,” Skye says with a light smile and Jemma arches an eyebrow at her.
“What look.”
“That look of pure unadulterated fear,” Skye muses and strikes away a line with her red pen, “I enjoyed that, you know.”
“You’re insufferable.”
“No, Jemma. You are. Anyway. I have made a folder with everything you should probably know about me. We don’t have time to date, and to get to know each other officially and over a longer period of time. If the immigration guy wants to dig into everything, you’re going to have to know things about me.” Skye gets up and opens a drawer. The folder she’s picked out is not that thick, because there’s a lot about her own background that Skye doesn’t know herself, but there’s enough in there to make this relationship believable.
“Don’t you need one?” Jemma asks and accepts the folder. Skye sits down again.
“I have spent the last three years as your personal assistant. I know pretty much everything about you.”
“You do.”
“Quiz me,” Skye says and grabs her bag, “but on the way to the airport. Our flight is leaving soon.”
Jemma didn’t know that Skye had sent someone to pack for her and had sent their luggage in advance. What she also didn’t know was that they wouldn’t be staying for one night, but that the birthday festivities stretched over more than two days. But that was just one thing Skye didn’t tell her, she would know as soon as she read the file.
“I... We... You... Wait,” Jemma splutters, but Skye simply holds out her hand to her.
“I’m not waiting. You can quiz me on the way to the airport. And during our flight.”
As soon as they boarded, Jemma decides to finally quiz her. The file on Skye is in her lap, but she hasn’t looked at it yet.
“You should probably memorize that. My family will ask things about that too.”
“I realise.”
“Plus we’re going to have to establish some ground rules in order to sell this relationship.”
“Undoubtedly. What were you thinking?”
“We should hold hands, and have our banter, maybe you should not look at me with that nose scrunch, although adorable, and maybe you should act like you actually like me.”
“I do like you. I proposed.”
“Doesn’t seem like it,” Skye winks and taps the file. “Now ask, if you don’t believe me.”
“Sure. What’s my date of birth?”
“April 18th, 1988.”
“Where was I born?”
“Sheffield, The United Kingdom.”
“Those were pretty easy,” Jemma says, “let’s step it up. What do you know about my medical history?”
“You are allergic to cats. I also think you have a tattoo somewhere, because you cancelled your appointment to have it removed. You had tonsillitis when you were six.”
“How do you know about this?” Jemma asks, but Skye ignores her.
“I also know you have a sister called Joan, your parents are called Andrew and Mary. Your favourite holidays were those in Spain – I heard you talking to your sister on the phone once, you sounded delighted.”
“Impressive.”
“I know enough about you to be engaged to you, Simmons. You should use this weekend to get to know me, because our appointment is scheduled for Wednesday.”
The rest of the flight is spent in silence. Skye reads a book, Jemma’s favourite, so that there’s another thing to add to their list. Skye finds the book alluring, but she wouldn’t have picked it as her favourite.
“Your favourite colour is blue?” Jemma asks after a while and Skye hums. “Like the sky.”
It earns her a light chuckle from Jemma, which is a sound she could definitely get used to.
“You should laugh more often,” Skye says absentmindedly, “it’s nice. You’re actually quite beautiful when you laugh.”
“Are you saying I’m not beautiful when I don’t laugh?”
“No, but when you don’t laugh you’re slightly intimidating.” Skye grins without looking up from her book, but she knows exactly the look Jemma is giving her. Her mouth half open in shock. It’s no surprise she swats at her arm.
“I like this song you listed as your favourite; Crack The Shutters,” Jemma says after a while and rests her hand on Skye’s wrist to get her attention.
“I never pegged you as the type that would listen to Snow Patrol.”
Jemma just smiles to herself and shrugs, but doesn’t say much.
“You snore?”
“Sometimes. It’s adorable, or you should find it adorable.”
Jemma rolls her eyes. “Of course. I’ll tell you family you drool, too.”
“Of course.”
“And that it’s adorable, naturally.”
“Naturally.”
Skye smiles to herself, maybe these days with Jemma here wouldn’t be so bad after all.
The airport they land at is crowded, but nothing too busy. Soon Skye finds a familiar face in the crowd and laces her fingers through Jemma’s, whose step stutters.
“Sorry, I just needed to adjust for a second,” Jemma says and Skye winks. “My family isn’t so bad. You did read that I am adopted, right? My parents died when I was three. I spent a lot of my youth in St. Agnes; the orphanage.”
“Right, that’s important.”
“My family is also a mixed bunch, but you’re not gonna find more love somewhere else.”
“Okay.”
“You alright, Simmons?”
“Fine,” she squeaks, and Skye squeezes her fingers. “We’ll be fine.”
The main thing Jemma remembers about this first meeting is that Skye’s family is loud, and she has only met one of her brothers and her mother. Her brother, Alex, swept her up in a bear hug that almost broke her back and her mother seemed to be ecstatic to see her.
“Finally Skye brings someone home. Oh, you’re going to love it here, Jemma. I’m so happy you’re here,” Jiaying, her mother, says and gathers Jemma in a hug that nearly leaves her teary eyed. Skye was right; she would probably never feel loved like this again.
“Your luggage is already at the house. We brought Lola,” Alex grins and a spark of excitement alights Skye’s face.
“Lola?” Jemma questions carefully.
“The speedboat.”
Jemma is absolutely afraid of riding boats as it turns out and it amuses Skye. It gives her the perfect opportunity to sit in the back with her wrapped around, occasionally mumbling something in her ear. It was adorable, but that wasn’t something Skye would admit to her family, let alone to Jemma, but it was something else to see excitement mixed with fear on Jemma’s face.
The water is calm, and the ride is easy. They drive around a mountain and into a bay, and Skye sighs. She had missed this place. She got adopted by Jiaying and Cal when she was eight and had spend the majority of her life here. It was Jemma’s fault that she hadn’t been home for three years, and that her family had to come visit her in New York during Christmas, because she couldn’t get more than one evening off.
“Wow,” Jemma says and her jaw drops when the property comes into view. Her words get lost over the rumble of the engine and the splashing of the water, but Skye picks up on it anyway.
There’s a boat house and a dock that connects to a perfect path up to the house that would probably be called a chateau if it were built in France. The only thing missing is the four towers on the corners, but it does come with a full landing and a Porsche in front.
“My father is a wealthy businessman,” Skye explains simply and puts her fingers to Jemma’s chin to close her mouth, “stop drooling. It’s very homey.”
“You never told me that.”
“You never listened,” Skye winks and the engine stops as soon as they dock in the boathouse next to two other boats.
Alex jumps off the boat first and loops the rope to steady the boat and then helps his mother out, leaving Skye to stretch her hand out to Jemma, who mouths a sincere thank you.
“Skye, honey. I’m sure you girls are hungry, so I’ll prepare you something small before we have dinner with the family. Tomorrow the first guests will arrive, so you have some time to adjust here, Jemma, darling. I’ve set you two up in your old room.”
“Thank you, Ms. Johnson,” Jemma says, but she waves her hand dismissively. “Please, call me Jiaying.”
“Okay, Jiaying.”
“Thanks, mom. Where’s the rest?” Skye asks while following them up the path to the house.
“I’m pretty sure they are out back. The weather is great today. Although, Simon and Eric are arriving tomorrow with their girlfriends, and I think that Elle should arrive any minute.”
“Oh, fun,” Skye says with an excited grin and holds the front door open for them.
“I’ll catch you later. I’m gonna help dad and Sammy with the barbecue.”
Alex dashes off and Jiaying presses a kiss to Skye’s temple. “Get settled, I understand that it’s a lot. Introductions can be made later.”
Skye simply smiles and nudges Jemma with her elbow. “This way.”
Jemma is pretty sure she’ll get lost in this house if she doesn’t stick to Skye’s side for the entire time, but she tries to map out the ground floor anyway.
“My room is in the back. I have my own bath, so that’s something. Also a door to the garden, which is so nice. We can sit out back by ourselves if we want to.”
“Who are all those people your mother named just now?”
“More siblings. We have a big family,” Skye smiles, “you’ll learn their names before they learn yours probably.”
Skye laughs and opens the door to a modest room. For some reason Jemma expected the room to be bigger for some reason, but it’s spacious even though it holds a double bed, a huge drawer that would fit Jemma’s clothes twice and a desk that wouldn’t look bad in her own office.
“How many brothers and sisters do you have exactly, Skye?” Jemma asks, looking around.
“You met Alex, there’s Simon and Eric, who arrive tomorrow. Elle is my sister, she’s twenty nine, and Samantha, a.k.a. Sammy is five.”
“Five?”
“Yup.”
“So there’s six of you.”
“Look, she even knows how to do math,” Skye laughs and Jemma rolls her eyes. “Anyway, I’ll sleep on the couch. You can have the bed.”
Jemma wants to protest, but she doesn’t even know why exactly. She wasn’t entirely sure she was ready to share a bed – how big it may be – with Skye, but on the other hand she feels a bit bad for making Skye sleep on the couch in her own home. So she just nods.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes, very. Thank you. I’m just not used to such a big family, or a family that is so welcome. My parents aren’t like that. They are very formal, maybe it’s because they are British.”
“Maybe. You’ll get used to it. Anyway, the bathroom is that door,” Skye points. I think my mother has taken the liberty of unpacking your stuff and putting it on the left side of my wardrobe.
“She’s a lot,” Jemma smiles and runs a hand through her hair before tying it up in a bun.
“She is, but she is with the best intentions though.”
Jemma nods. “I’d eh... like to change.”
“Oh, yeah, of course. Don’t let me keep you from doing that. I’ll wait for you in the kitchen?”
“Where’s the kitchen?”
“Do you know the way back to the hall?” Skye asks and Jemma laughs. She would probably manage that.
“Yes.”
“I’ll wait for you there.”
Jemma feels a bit bad for taking so long. The shower looked to appealing and she just had to play with the extra massage functions for a bit before getting out and wrapping herself in a fluffy towel. She wonders if Skye still has that, or whether this is just an ordinary bathroom for her. It baffles her how Skye seems so normal, as if all this wealth didn’t affect her.
“I grew almost a hundred, you do realise that, right?” Skye says and gets up from the stairs where she’s sitting on one of the steps.
“Sorry,” Jemma says with a bashful smile.
“Shower functions?”
“Mhm.”
Skye nods understandingly and shrugs with one shoulder. For a moment she’s taken aback by Jemma. She only now notices that Jemma has washed off pretty much all make up, aside from a little concealer and mascara. It’s stupid, she knew Jemma was beautiful, but in this entirely different setting, there’s an unfamiliar tug in her stomach and Skye shakes her head.
“This way.”
The kitchen is huge and full of food preparations for tomorrow. There are literal chefs working and when Skye opens the fridge to pour them a drink, Jemma is sure the food will pile out.
“Skyeeee!” a voice chirps in the background and a door slams. Bare feet pad against the tiles and Skye sets down the two glasses.
“Where are you? I can’t see you, you’re so tiny,” Skye jokes when the little girl collides full force with Skye’s front and Jemma laughs.
“I’m here! I’m not tiny, Skye!” the girl exclaims and tugs on the hem of Skye’s shirt.
“I know. Give me a hug. I missed you.”
When Skye scoops the girl up in her arms, Jemma all of a sudden feels bad for keeping Skye away from her family so much.
“I missed you, too. You cut your hair!”
“I did. And you didn’t comb yours.” Skye laughs and puts her down. She ruffles through the unruly mess.
“I know. Skye? Who is your friend?”
“Ah yes. You see, little one, this is my girlfriend, Jemma.”
“What’s a girlfriend?” Sammy asks and looks up at them with her big brown doe eyes and Jemma grins.
“You know how mom and dad love each other very much?” Skye asks and the little girl nods. “See, that’s how Jemma and I love each other very much.”
“Like uncle Bob and uncle Adam.”
“Yes, exactly like that. But we are both girls.”
“Okay. But don’t kiss. That’s gross,” Sammy says and waves her hands. Skye snorts.
“You’re taking after Alex, I can already tell. Okay, little monster. Let’s go outside, shall we.”
Skye winks at Jemma and grabs her hand. It’s easy, and Jemma didn’t think it would be as easy to sell this as it is.
“This is fine, right?” Skye asks when Jemma stares at their intertwined fingers for longer than she thought and she shakes from her reverie. “Oh yes, perfectly fine.”
“Can I hold your hand too, Jemma?” Sammy asks and Jemma nods. “Sure.”
She jumps in between them and pries their fingers apart so she can hold onto both of them while walking in the middle, jumping to swing as soon as they are outside.
“Skye! There she is!” a loud voice quite literally booms over the deck and before anyone can process what exactly is happening, Skye’s father has gathered her in a bone-crushing hug and kissed the top of her head.
“Dad, this is Jemma.”
“Jemma. Your girlfriend?”
“Fiancée, actually. It’s so new, we haven’t even found the time to get a ring.” Jemma smiles and shakes his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, sir.”
“We should arrange that soon. Call me Cal, please. Welcome to the family, love. Make yourself at home, I’m sure you girls would love a beer. Hear that folks! Our little Skye is getting married!” he shouts and Alex raises his beer bottle to them. Jemma is pretty sure she spots a few tears in the eyes of Skye’s mother when she hugs them and showers them with words of affection.
Not very long later Skye’s sister Elle arrives with their grandparents, a wrinkly old couple that are the epitome of love. Jemma finds them adorable. It’s bizarre how easily Jemma is swallowed by this family as if she’s one of their own already, while they have only met her hours ago. Being introduced as Skye’s fiancée was allegedly enough.
It’s easy over dinner. Skye sells it perfectly. She lingers her hand on Jemma’s wrist, throws her head back laughing when Jemma says something. They are involved in the conversation, but try to figure bits and pieces out about each other as the evening flows along. At eleven they are still sitting out back with the entire family, but the pack has scattered a little and Skye has her arm draped over the back of Jemma’s chair.
“Wanna go? I’m actually pretty tired. This would be the perfect time to excuse ourselves,” Skye mumbles with her nose against Jemma’s cheek. She nods and gets up, holding out her hand to Skye.
“Ladies and gents. It’s been our pleasure, but we’re gonna hit the sack. Sleep tight, guys,” Skye says and Jemma gives everyone a little wave. “It’s been fantastic to meet you all.”
They walk around the outside, and Jemma lets go of Skye’s hand as soon as they are out of sight. Somewhere she feels sad that she has to, but for some reason she feels like she does. She swallows away a lump in her throat and sighs.
“Jemma?” Skye breathes, and grabs her wrist. Jemma spins around too quickly, and stumbles against Skye, who catches her with her hands on her hips.
“Oh.”
“Hi.”
“Hi.” Jemma blushes. She stands on her tippy-toes and cups Skye’s face. Skye connects their foreheads and cocks her head slightly. Jemma wants to close the tiny space between them, but all of a sudden she knows she can’t. Her heart leaps, and there’s a strange thrill inside her body. She realises she actually wants to kiss Skye, and hopes that she closes the gap, but thinks better of it. She cowers. She’s afraid of feeling these things with Skye, so she backs away.
“You know, maybe we shouldn’t...” Jemma says abruptly and sneaks inside. Skye shakes her head confusedly, but follows soon after. She doesn’t mention it, but is strangely sad that they didn’t kiss. Which is weird, right? Or it should be.
They change silently, Jemma in the bathroom and Skye in her room. They brush their teeth in silence and then Skye settles on the couch while Jemma slips under the heavy duvet.
“Good night, Skye.”
“Night.”
Skye is already up that morning, up and dressed, and for some reason that surprises her. She’s wearing ripped, faded jeans and a lumberjack shirt that probably belonged to her father once.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Skye grins and sits down on the edge of her bed. She hands her a damping mug of what turns out to be tea and Jemma sighs.
“Good morning. Thank you. God, this is good.”
“Mhm, my mom knows how to make a good cup of tea, you can leave that to her,” Skye laughs, “did you sleep well?”
“Like a baby. I still feel bad for letting you sleep on the couch, though, Skye.”
“It’s fine. I just bumped into my dad and there’s going to be a lot of family here today before the rest of the friends pop over tomorrow. There will be a big lunch party, we will do most of my grandmother’s birthday celebrations and there will be a lot more people to meet. He was wondering if you’re still okay here.”
Jemma raises her brows. “Really? How kind. I am, though. Everyone has been very welcoming.”
“Good. They will be here around three. I was actually thinking of showing you the island?”
“That sounds lovely, Skye. I’d love that.”
“I’ll get the boat ready; meet me out front in say half an hour? Put on your bikini.”
Jemma nods and Skye cracks a wide grin. “You’re gonna love this.”
And she does. The second time on the boat is significantly less scary, especially when she’s curled up against Skye again, even though they don’t have to be a pretend-couple here out on the open water. The wind whistles in her ears and she’s positive that she’ll spend the rest of the afternoon with knots in her hair, but it’s fine, because Jemma is swallowed whole by the experience and the wide smile on Skye’s face.
They dock at a little secluded beach and Skye takes off her shoes before jumping into the water. She plunges in knee deep and her face distorts when she realises how cold the water exactly is. Jemma scrunches her nose.
“You’re such a show-off.”
“Would you rather do it, then?” Skye mocks, but Jemma shakes her head. “No, thank you. You can be the fearless heroine.”
Skye secures the boat and helps Jemma get off then, carrying her to the shore on her back. The sand is a whole lot warmer between their toes and they drop their bags in the sand. The sun beams down on them and Skye shamelessly strips down to her bikini.
“I used to come here all the time when I was a teenager. Well, once I was allowed to take the boat with Trip.”
“Trip?”
“My childhood bestie. I’m pretty sure he’ll be here tomorrow. Or at least I hope so, because if I’m correct he’s in Canada at the moment.”
“But you never...”
“No, oh no,” Skye laughs, “no. Trip and I were never close like that. Why, are you jealous?”
“I was almost afraid I was going to have to share.” Jemma winks.
“What about you? Where did you go when you were little?”
“School, mostly,” Jemma laughs and digs her toes into the sand. “And there was this little meadow in the woods where I would go with Fitz. We stopped going there around high school, though. I transferred to the Academy when I was seventeen to get my PhDs. Fitz came with, fortunately. I wouldn’t know where I’d be now without him.”
“Have you ever... you know... with Fitz?”
“Oh, no. Never,” Jemma chuckles exactly the same way and scrunches her nose. “No. We went to the boiler room together. It was fun, we went to a lot of parties down there. Fitz was quite the beer-pong legend.”
Skye grins. “Sounds like fun. And then you took this job at S.H.I.E.L.D.”
“I did. And now I’m in Alaska, of all places. It really is beautiful here.”
“Aside from the bears. Anyway, have you ever fished?” Skye asks then and Jemma shakes her head.
“No. You brought supplies?”
“Told you this was going to be great.”
They spend the rest of the morning eating fresh fruit on a blanket, and trying to fish something from the water, but they don’t get a whole lot further than some seaweed. At some point Skye can’t resist but push Jemma over, so she is swallowed by the lake entirely.
“Skye! I have to face your family!”
“I know. They’ll think you’re beautiful with salty beach-hair.” Skye grins and shrugs, picking two beers from a cooler. “Want one?”
Jemma rolls her eyes at her, but accepts the drink nonetheless. When they are getting slightly sleepy, rosy, from the sun and swimming, Skye decides it’s high time to get back so that there’s time left to change and slab after-sun on their tingly skin.
Jemma spends the entire boat ride back watching Skye, who whistles that Snow Patrol song she likes and drums her fingers on the wheel.
“Hey, Skye,” Jemma says when they are back in the boat house and nudges her.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for taking me there. You were right; I loved it.”
The smile Skye gives her is priceless.
“Oh but you have to tell the story of how you proposed to Anne, Jemma. Please? We’re too curious,” Jiaying asks them that afternoon when they are surrounded by at least a dozen family members and Skye rolls her eyes. They have been telling the story to everyone who asked and every time it got slightly more romantic.
By now, they both knew the story by heart and Jemma sits down in Skye’s lap when she comes back from getting them a flute of champagne. Skye casually wraps her arm around Jemma’s waist and presses her nose into the fabric of Jemma’s dress. She smells nice.
“Fine, but that’s the last time of today then,” Skye says and clinks her glass to Jemma’s, “the stage is yours, honey.”
“It’s more fun when you tell it, though, but fine, if you insist, love.” Jemma laughs airily. “So, it was right before we came here, actually. Skye had been planning on taking me here forever. She had told me a lot of stories, about the secluded beach, about fishing there, about her family. So of course I got curious, but the most important thing is that I fell for her so hard that I didn’t see the point in waiting, so... when one evening Skye tells me that she loves me...”
A wave of ‘ahhs’ crashes through the group that’s listening and Skye rolls her eyes.
“... I knew it was a done deal. I knew right in that moment that this is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with...” Jemma says and looks at Skye with sparkles in her eyes. A wide grin cracks on their faces and Skye sits up a little to kiss her cheek, which results in another wave of ‘ahh’s.
“So I didn’t take the time to plan it out meticulously,” Jemma continues, “like I would normally. I didn’t take her to Paris. I want to, one day, and maybe I’ll propose again just for the heck of it. But I didn’t do all of that, I didn’t take her out to a fancy dinner, I didn’t dress up all fancily. I didn’t buy her expensive wine and I didn’t invite family and friends. Frankly, we were at a local café on our lunch break when I just got down on one knee, and asked her to marry me. I didn’t even get her a ring, how terrible am I?”
“It’s a miracle I said yes.” Everyone laughs and Jemma nudges her playfully. “You wouldn’t say no.”
“Of course not. How could I possibly.”
The light is so bright when Jemma wakes up their second morning, that she thinks it’s impossible that Skye is still asleep. Her faux-fiancée. But she is, she’s snoring a little and it is adorable, unfortunately enough. Jemma rubs her eyes and sinks back into the pillows. It’s a little after nine and that’s a whole lot later than she usually gets up, but for the first time since forever she feels actually well rested.
She shoots back upright when there are footsteps behind the door.
“Skye!” she hisses, but the girl doesn’t wake up, not even when there’s a knock. “Girls?”
“Just a second!” Jemma calls out and throws a pillow at Skye, who jerks awake then and nearly tumbles off the couch.
“What the...”
“Get in bed with me!”
“What? Jem, what is going on,” Skye says groggily and rubs her eyes.
“Your parents are outside, or at least your mom. Get. In. Bed. Now.”
“Shit,” Skye says and tosses her blanket and pillow behind the bed before quite literally launching herself onto the bed and crawls under the covers. “Come in?!” she calls out when she has successfully wrapped her arms around Jemma, who looks at her with wide eyes. “Morning, by the way.”
“Morning. Is this necessary?” Jemma motions to their obvious cuddle. Jemma wants to scoot closer to Skye’s sleepy warmth, but she doesn’t dare.
“We’re engaged. We can argue about this later,” Skye says and grins wickedly. Before Jemma can answer the door opens and Jiaying appears in the doorway with a tray of breakfast in her hands.
“I thought you two lovebirds would maybe like to sleep in a little, have breakfast with the two of you before all hell breaks loose,” she laughs airily and Jemma cracks a smile.
“Thank you, that’s so considerate.”
“Mom,” Skye groans and buries her face in Jemma’s shoulder, “really?!”
“I just wanted to make sure you two were comfortable.” She winks and Jemma is sure she has never seen this shade of embarrassed on Skye’s face before. Jemma laughs and tucks a strand of wild bed-hair behind her ear before she can think better of it and clears her throat.
“Thank you,” Skye says and waves her hand, “we are very comfortable. You can go now.”
“Oh, by the way, girls. Gran would like to steal Jemma away for a moment somewhere during the day, and Trip called. He’s here to see you from Canada.”
“He is?”
“Yes, he’ll be here around four. Cal will pick him up, maybe you can tag along.”
“Oh that’s great. I can’t wait to see him.” Skye sounds so excited that Jemma almost gets jealous.
By the time they leave the room fully dressed and make-upped it’s a little after three. They brush off the comments coming from Skye’s siblings about how cosy her room was, hint-hint, while in fact Jemma had been on the phone for well over an hour with New York, and Skye had been filling out paperwork. After that they spend some time building their story. The part of how they met was easy, work. They would stick to that, but they had to build a convincing lie for the story of who proposed to who, where, and how. They constructed a story for how their co-workers reacted, and some memories they had together. It would be easier that way and cause less slip ups.
“Jemma, darling. A minute?” Skye’s grandmother pops her head from the sitting room and Jemma nods. “Of course. I’ll catch you later, Skye?”
“I’ll go with my dad to pick up Trip. Call me if there’s anything, okay?”
“Sure. Bye, love,” Jemma says as if it’s the most natural thing in the world and Skye winks. “Bye.”
Jemma follows Margaret into the sitting room and sits down next to her on the couch. There’s a soft glint in her eyes that reminds Jemma of her own grandmother, who had unfortunately passed away at a young age. Cancer, but Jemma smiles nonetheless.
“Darling, Cal told me that you and Skye were so busy working that you haven’t found the time to plan anything with regards to your wedding yet.”
“We haven’t. It’s all very new, and Skye wanted me to meet you first thing. We finally have a few days off,” Jemma smiles and folds her hands in her lap. It was a bit strange to admit that they weren’t even wearing rings.
“Be honest with me for a moment,” the old woman says and her face changes to a more serious look. Jemma’s heart stutters for a moment. What if she’s going to ask whether Jemma really loves her granddaughter? She couldn’t lie to this woman. She would break on the spot and they would send her back to the UK, not to mention the fact that Margaret would probably die from an acute heart-attack. “Who between the two of you would wear the ring?”
“The engagement ring?” Jemma questions surprised and Margaret nods. “Yes, dear.”
“Oh, I... Well, I proposed, but I suppose we’d both love to wear an engagement ring.”
“Yes, yes. I see, okay. Well, I have been thinking, and looking around.” The corners of Margaret’s eyes crinkle when she smiles and Jemma feels like she’s drowning. She knows what is going to happen and she’s not sure she is ready for it. She knows this from the crappy romantic movies she would watch on her Friday nights alone.
“I couldn’t possibly...”
Margaret reaches for a little chest on the table and clicks it open. Inside are pieces of jewellery probably more expensive than Jemma’s entire house back in New York, but she keeps quiet. She bites the inside of her cheek when Margaret picks out two beautiful rings.
“I have been engaged three times, all to the same man,” Margaret chuckles and takes Jemma’s hand. She places the two rings in her hand. “And I think these rings bring luck. We renewed our vows, and we decided to only wear the rings from our latest wedding, so to speak. So, I have two engagement rings that bring a lot of luck, and I would like for you and Skye to wear them, Jemma.”
Jemma’s ears ring and she feels an unfamiliar prickle in her eyes. Tears. She is emotional over the fact that this old lady would give her these rings, so that she could get married to her granddaughter.
“I can’t possibly accept something so valuable...” Jemma tries, but she doesn’t place the rings back on the table. She wants to slip one around her finger. She knows exactly who would be wearing which ring and she presses her free hand to her mouth. “It’s too much. You don’t have to do something like that.”
“Oh, but I want to, dear. Please, accept them. Give one to Skye and wear one yourself. I’ve been saving them for her, as Elle never intended to get married.”
“I... Okay... Thank you so much. They are perfect. So beautiful, I couldn’t have picked out better ones myself. Please, excuse me. I have a phone call to make with New York,” Jemma says and kisses Margaret on her cheek before leaving the room.
She hurries to Skye’s room, where she closes the door behind her and sinks down to the floor. Tears stream down her face, and hear chest feels heavy. Her throat is sore. She can’t do this. Skye’s family is too much, too loud, too kind, to loving, too accepting. She can’t trick them into thinking that Skye is actually in love with her. She can’t keep Skye from marrying someone she actually loves. She can’t risk Skye getting into jail because of her. She simply can’t do it. How could she have been so selfish? She buries her face in her hands and sits there until someone comes to find her.
Skye missed him. She really, really did. He had been there for her throughout her entire life, so when she moved to New York to pursue the great perhaps, he supported her, even though he didn’t like that she went away.
The hug he gives her is so tight that she is lifted from her feet and her legs dangle in the air.
“Stop doing that.” She barks out a laugh and shoves him when he puts her down again.
“I always do that, girl,” he says and laughs, “so, getting married huh?”
“News travels fast. Sorry, I wanted to tell you myself.”
“Who’s the lucky girl?”
“Jemma.” Skye smiles sadly and shrugs. “I think you’ll like her.”
“Something wrong?”
Skye rubs her face and runs a hand through her hair. “Not necessarily. I just... You know... Trip, can you keep a secret?”
“Oh no, she’s a serial killer?”
“No, she’s my boss, but that’s not the big issue here.”
“It isn’t?” Trip laughs and ducks when Skye swats at him. “I’m trying here! C’mon Trip, please.”
“Sorry. Do continue.”
“No. Look, she had applied for a work visa in the states. She’s CEO of our Science Division, and she’s a good one. S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn’t want to lose her for the world, but she travelled to Europe while the application was still open and...”
“... it’s been denied.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying, Skye?”
“I think I am... And I also think I’m actually falling for her,” Skye says with puffed up cheeks.
“Dude, that’s intense.”
“I know, because we have skipped the whole awkward dating thing, and we have skipped the girlfriend thing. Hell, I haven’t even kissed her. I sleep on my frigging couch, because I don’t want things to get awkward, but I always thought she was terrible, because she was my boss and kept me at work all the time, but she’s actually a good person, Trip. She’s really beautiful, and really cute, and really intelligent, and...”
“And you’re falling in love with her... That’s your typical romantic comedy.”
“I know. It’s your typical lesbian drama movie,” Skye snorts, “please don’t tell my parents. I don’t know how this is going to play out. I’m already enough disappointment as it is in the love department and I don’t want to ruin my gran’s birthday.”
“Hey, my mouth is sealed. I still have told nobody about that time you wet yourself in the ball pit.”
“Oh my god. I was hoping you forgot about that.”
“Never. You should talk to her, though, Skye, or this is going to end badly for everyone.”
“You’re probably right. Let’s fetch my dad from the store and head back. I don’t want to leave her alone too long with my family.”
“Good idea, before she changes her mind.”
“Shut your mouth. How’s Raina?”
“We’re expecting a baby, actually.”
“Trip! Idiot! Why didn’t you tell me sooner! That’s fantastic news!”
“It is. I’m really happy.”
“Mom?” Skye calls out and walks into the kitchen where she finds her rummaging through the fridge, “mom, hi. Have you seen Jemma?”
“I haven’t. She was with gran, and she told me that she gave Jemma rings, and that she then excused herself to make a call to New York.”
“Alright, thank you. Trip is here, by the way. He’s staying, if that’s okay?”
“Of course, honey.”
A frown settles between Skye’s brows when she darts out of the kitchen and hurries her way through the hallway that suddenly seems too long for her liking. She knows that her grandmother can be very overwhelming, and she’s pretty sure that’s exactly what happened. Skye shouldn’t have left her alone with the woman, and she mentally chastises herself for that slip up.
“Jem?” Skye calls through the door and she finds herself knocking, even though that’s a pretty ridiculous thing to do in her own home. She cracks the door open and sees Jemma’s silhouette outside on her swing.
“Hey, you alright?” Skye says when she walks outside, but it’s pretty evident that Jemma isn’t. Her cheeks are stained red and her eyes are still watery and puffy. “Have you been crying?”
“Don’t mock me.”
“I’m not. What’s wrong? Talk to me, honey,” Skye says and squats down in front of her, taking her hands in hers. Jemma opens one of her fists and the two rings lay perfectly still in the palm of her hand.
“Your grandma gave me these. It’s too much, Skye. It’s unfair. I can’t do this. I thought I could use you to get my green card, but I can’t. Your family is too nice, and you’re being too nice. I’m enjoying myself so much, but it’s really not fair of me to play house here and pretend that I am in love with you, and build a web of lies so that they won’t send me to the UK. I will have to sit that year out, or just move back to England entirely. I...”
“Hey... Shh. It’s okay. We’ll be fine. I get that it’s a lot. I put you in this situation myself, I’m sorry. Maybe it’s too much, but that’s my fault. I invited you here, remember.”
“Skye, your grandmother gave me engagement rings. Rings that she kept for you for when you were getting married.”
“I am getting married,” Skye states bluntly, “to you.”
“You deserve so much more,” Jemma whispers and blinks away more tears. She wipes her nose with her sleeve and shakes her head, “you deserve someone better than me, and I most certainly don’t deserve you.”
“Jem... What are you saying?”
“I will tell your family, and immigration, that I blackmailed you into marrying me, and I will be flying back to New York first thing in the morning. I will make sure you get that job in the IT department anyway, Skye. You deserve it, and I have been too selfish keeping you at my office. You’re really good at your job, and I am so very sorry I dragged you into my mess.”
Skye swallows hard and shakes her head. “Don’t do that. They will send you back to the UK.”
“I know. It’s fine, Skye. I brought it on myself.”
“You can’t back out now. My family loves you...”
“But you don’t, Skye. And that’s the real problem here.” Jemma smiles sadly and shrugs. She puts the rings in Skye’s hand and gets up. “I have already booked the flight. I will tell your family at dinner and you can get back to your life. I have stolen too much of your time already, Skye. I’m sorry.”
“Is this about last night? You know, when we almost kissed, but then didn’t?” Skye steps between her and the door, blocking her way.
“What? No, it’s not that. I’ll see you at dinner. Go spend some time with Trip.”
Before they can argue any further there’s a knock at the door and Cal shows up. “Dinner is ready, girls. Are you coming?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Jemma brushes past her and joins Cal in their trip to the dining room, leaving Skye with the rings in her hand.
Jemma hates that she has to do it, especially when Sammy crawls into her lap after dinner and is well on her way to tell her a story about dinosaurs.
“She talks a lot, this one,” Elle says to Jemma and ruffles through Sammy’s hair. Jemma laughs and nods. “I figured that much.”
“I don’t talk a lot. I just have a lot of stories.”
“They’re good stories.”
“Do you have a sister, Jemma?” Elle asks while refilling their glasses with chardonnay and Jemma nods.
“I do, one. Joan. She’s a little older than me, married to a lawyer, fresh out of med school. The pride and joy of the family.”
“And now you’re coming home with a hacker that is your assistant,” Elle says with a grin, “I like you, Jemma. I think you’re a good influence on Skye, even though you made her work over the holidays three years in a row.”
“Yes, I am very sorry about that,” Jemma admits with a deep blush, but Elle laughs.
“There’s plenty of time to make up for that.” Elle shrugs, but Jemma shakes her head. “Not?”
Jemma lifts little Sammy into the lap of her bigger sister and pushes her chair away from the table before getting up. “I’m sorry, I...”
“Jemma, honey...” Skye warns and gets up from her seat as well. She’s been sitting a little further down the table on the other side. “... please don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Alex asks and Skye shakes her head.
“Uh oh. Dessert, anyone?” Trip asks, even though they are only halfway through dinner, but it’s fruitless. All eyes are trained on the couple regardless.
“Skye, what is going on?” Cal asks quietly.
“It’s my fault, really, sir. I haven’t been completely honest with you and I am so very sorry for that. It’s just that when I came up with this ridiculous idea, I thought I could pull this off, but I can’t. I... The US government wants to deport me back to the UK because I travelled to Europe while my work visa was still under review... And that doesn’t make me a criminal, but blackmailing your lovely daughter into marrying me so that I could keep my job and stay in the states does. And it makes me feel terrible, and you have all been so good to me and I’d like to thank you for your hospitality, but in all candour: I can’t go through with this. I’m so very sorry.”
“Jemma, don’t do this, please,” Skye says and her voice breaks.
“I have to, Skye. It’s not fair. Not to you, and not to your family. I will take the first flight back to New York, and I will make sure Skye gets to keep her job, and I will not bother you any further. Again, my sincerest apologies.”
No one says a word until Jemma has excused herself and has left the dining room table.
“Shit,” Skye breathes and wipes at her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
“Bad word!” Sammy calls out, but Elle shushes her quickly.
“Skye, is this true?” Jiaying asks and Skye shrugs.
“It was, but you know... She did talk me into this fake marriage, and we would just be married for the restricted time and until her visa would be approved off, and then we would get a quicky divorce. That was how it was supposed to go. But then we got into the whole circus, and we couldn’t back out anymore, and I got to know her. And now I’m not so sure it’s all a facade anymore... We fought earlier, sort of. I can’t keep her here if she doesn’t want to. I’m sorry about ruining dinner. I’m not very hungry anymore. I’ll see if I can talk to her, and otherwise I’m going to bed.”
“Skye sad?” Sammy asks with her tiny fists pressed against her cheeks.
“Yes, little one. Skye is sad,” Skye chuckles over a sob and presses a kiss into her hair.
When Skye reaches the bedroom she finds Jemma packing her suitcase. They don’t talk, Skye just silently agrees to drive the boat back to the main land and get her to the airport. Jemma works some CEO magic to get her on the first flight back to New York, even a flight earlier than the one she planned originally. Skye notices that Jemma doesn’t dare looking her in the eye, but squeezes her hand in a silent apology before boarding.
Skye doesn’t go back home, she winds up at a local bar where she drinks beers until the sun comes up, and Trip comes to take her home.
Skye awakes with a throbbing headache and a burning throat, but Sammy has curled up next to her somewhere during the day and is fast asleep with a thumb in her mouth. The sight alone is almost enough to have her tear up again.
“You’re an idiot to let her slip away, Skye,” a familiar voice says on the opposite end of the room. Trip is sitting on her couch with a newspaper and a cup of coffee. It’s so domestic that she has to laugh. She has never seen him like that.
“I know.”
“You better get your ass back to New York and tell her that she’s also stupid to let you slip away.”
“She’s probably on her way to the UK already.”
“Skye, really? You’re going to let that stop you? If you love her, you go get her. If you think she loves you back, then especially.”
Sammy stirs next to her and stretches her little arms above her head, nearly slapping Skye in the face, which is perfect irony. She wakes up and sits up.
“Where is Jemma?” Sammy asks and looks around, but only finds Trip and her sister there.
“Back to New York.”
“No!”
“Yeah, I’m sorry, love.”
Sammy’s face turns slightly red when she tries to look as angry as she can and Skye laughs.
“Skye, please don’t be so stupid and marry her, if that’s what it takes to keep her close to you.”
The flight back to New York is the most agonizing flight she has ever taken. Jemma won’t answer her call when she touches down on JFK. She didn’t bother to pack a bag; it would only cost her extra time checking in and out and with customs.
She flags a cab that takes her straight to the office that buzzes with people. It’s busy, especially for a Wednesday. Skye had lost track of time completely, but she realises that she’s about to pull a big stunt in front of all of their co-workers. If Jemma hadn’t left, that is.
The elevator is teasingly slow, and Skye can’t help to bash the buttons. She knows it won’t take her to the fifth floor sooner, but it gives her the idea that she helps move the elevator along.
Her sneakers slip on the tiles of the hall and usually she would be wearing heels and a suit, but not today. Today she wore her lumberjack blouse and her ripped jeans.
Jemma’s office is empty when she arrives. There’s no furniture, the carpet has been stripped and there is no sign of Jemma there. The only thing standing there is a vase with three daisies in there. Skye mutters a string of profanities and runs her fingers through her hair.
“Skye?”
Skye whirls around to a surprised Bobbi and nods. “Yeah? Hi.”
“I thought you were in Alaska?”
“I was. Something came up. Where is Jemma? Why is her office empty?”
“Simmons? She left, Skye. She resigned, and Leopold Fitz took her position.”
“Fitz?” Skye chokes out a laugh and shakes her head. “No, that can’t be. Shit. I love her. I need to find her. I can’t be too late. Where did she say she was going?”
“You love her? Skye, I thought you were going to marry her.”
“I was! I am! But I need to find her, and I need to tell her I am in love with her!”
“You are?” a second voice pops up and they spin around. Bobbi still hasn’t lost that look of utter confusion on her face.
“Jemma,” Skye breathes. “Hi. I thought I was going to be too late.”
“Too late for what, Skye. I thought I was clear.”
“Yes! You were, and you are also stupid. Because we almost-kissed, and you slept in my bed. You are so funny, and so intelligent, and I think you are so beautiful without make-up, and actually you know what you’re the one drooling when you sleep, but it’s adorable. My family loves you, Jemma, and to be honest with you I never thought these words would come past my lips before this weekend, but they will. Because I am in love with you, and I can’t let you go to the UK, because I believe that you are in love with me too.”
“Skye... I am not... You know how I am... We hardly know each other. Or well, you know me, it turns out,” Jemma smiles weakly, “and I have fallen for you. I fell for you when you took me fishing and when we drank wine in your garden with your family, but...”
“Jemma. In a perfect world, if you weren’t about to be deported, would you give this a shot?”
“I would, Skye, but this isn’t an ideal world, and I am about to be deported.”
“I know. But Jemma, marry me, because I would like to date you, and if it doesn’t work out, we can get divorced anyway. But please don’t go to England like this.”
“You didn’t bring the rings, did you?” Jemma whispers and presses the back of her hand to her mouth.
“I did. So what do you say?” Skye says and even gets down on one knee, the two rings in the palm of her hand.
“Yes, Skye. Yes. I would love to,” Jemma says before she can think better of it and then Skye’s hands are on her cheeks and she’s kissing her hard, bruisingly almost. She can feel the cool metal of the rings around Skye’s index finger against her skin and for a moment she feels as if she’s flying. Her heart skips a beat, and she knows that this is exactly why it never worked out with anyone else.
It’s Christmas, and the house in Alaska is covered in a thick layer of snow. Sammy is building what she says the Eiffel Tower from Lego, while it looks more like the Empire State. Not that they are telling her that. Trip and Cal are playing charades against Margaret and Alex. Their laughs echo through the home and Skye smiles. She is standing in the kitchen next to her mother chopping vegetables when suddenly warm arms wrap around her waist and someone presses their nose between her shoulder blades.
“Hi, love,” Jemma whispers and tightens her hold when Skye whistles that Snow Patrol song between her teeth.