Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Christmas in Scotland is almost magical, Fitz." Jemma Simmons told him.

Fitz raised his eyebrows. "Please don't start on that magic and Harry Potter and whatever. Magic isn't real."

"Christmas is and you've got to believe a little bit in Christmas magic! What would be the fun of not having a bit of magic?" She laughed and darted over to look in a shop window.

"Simmons, magic isn't real. Science is real."

"And you're a grump about Christmas." She pointed out as she watched the shop display. It had elves that were dancing back and forth across the display that was set up like a North Pole workshop and a robotic Santa loomed above them, ho ho hoing.

"That's just creepy." He joined her at the window.

She shoved him lightly. "It's not creepy, it's Christmassy." Turning around she looked up and down the street. It was getting dark and the lights were coming on up and down the street. Regular shop lamps, streetlights and Christmas decorations shone brightly in the approaching darkness. "It really does look like we've stepped in Diagon Alley."

Fitz groaned. "Don't start with the magic again, Simmons! You're not eight years old."

"When I was eight, I knew there wasn't really a Santa or elves or a magical North Pole. It's just for fun, Fitz." Simmons reached for his hand, "Come on, let's walk along and see the Christmas magic or spirit or whatever you want to call it."

He pretended to be reluctant about her taking his hand, hoping she wouldn't notice he was pretending, and let her lead him down the street. He really didn't care much for Christmas and he certainly didn't care about magic, he couldn't understand why someone as intelligent as Jemma Simmons would even want to pretend about magic, but letting her take his hand and lead him around Edinburgh? He had no problems with that.

They wandered down the street, the Christmas decorations getting brighter as the sun set further. Fitz did have to admit it all looked lovely, but he wouldn't admit to magical. That would just be too much.

"Oh, look, Fitz, that gallery has a special show for Christmas art! We should go in!" Simmons darted across the street, Fitz following.

The art gallery was much warmer then the outside, to their relief. It was decorated inside as it had been outside, garlands with brightly colored ornaments and red lights. Around the small gallery was Christmas art of all kinds - paintings, sculptures, even a life size Santa statue stood in the corner with a not quite traditional suit of red and green.

Fitz couldn't say this was exactly the kind of place he would've chosen to get out of the cold weather for a while but watching Simmons light up as she looked at each and every art piece certainly made it worth it. She spun around like a ballerina, almost dancing between each artwork. He found watching her much more enjoyable then the art itself.

"I think this one is my favorite." She stopped in front of a small statue. It was a little blonde elf girl, with a blue outfit with silver stars and jingle bells. "She reminds me of being a little girl and starting my fascination with astronomy and science."

He didn't see how an elf reminded Simmons of herself but he slyly checked the price tag when she was distracted by the next piece. It wasn't as expensive as he feared. It would make a lovely gift for her if he would be brave enough to give her something that special. Keeping one eye on her, he carefully picked it up and snuck over to the register. Whispering to the cashier, Fitz quickly paid for it and arranged for it to be shipped. He wondered where the burst of bravery had come from. Simmons would probably tell him it was Christmas magic.

"Fitz?" Simmons suddenly was beside him.

He tried to act nonchalant, "Yeah? Find any more elves?"

"I did actually, but I was wondering what you wanted to do in regards to food. Our train isn't for several hours. "They were supposed to be on their way to visit her parents, but the train had been delayed until later that night.

Fitz was always up for food. "A snack sounds like a great idea!"

"We passed a coffee place not too far away, we could get a dessert and a drink at least. That should be enough until dinner."

"Yes, let's go find the coffee place. Something warm to drink would be good." They stepped out of the art gallery and the cold wind hit them once more. "The gallery was nice and toasty, too bad they didn't have food!"

"I wish they had too." Simmons put her gloves back on, they were now necessary in the biting wind. "I could've spent our entire wait, just looking at all the Christmas art."

"You do love Christmas." Fitz told her as they crossed the street towards the coffee shop.

"I do! I love decorating, I love giving gifts, it's just all so fun and magical in a way." She had to slip in another nod to magic, just to tease him.

He pretended to be annoyed as he held open the shop door for her.

The coffee shop was invitingly warm and smelled heavenly. A sign posted over the counter listed several kinds of coffee, tea, pastries and even a few types of sandwiches. Like most shops, it was decorated for Christmas, garlands of mini coffee red and green mugs circled the room, a tree with the same garland stood in the corner with blinking white lights.

"I think I will get a sandwich. And a pastry." Fitz studied the menu.

"You're getting dinner now!" She laughed as she thought about what she wanted to eat.

"I'll be hungry later, no doubt. Food on a train isn't very good."

"My parents will have food at their house. Too bad we're going to miss dinner, but maybe mum will save some for us." Simmons settled on a maple scone and a cup of tea. Accepting her order from the cashier, she took it over to a table by the window to wait for Fitz. "It's snowing!" She exclaimed, turning back to him.

Fitz wondered what it was she found so fascinating about snow but he liked seeing her so happy and excited over something simple like snow.

"I love watching it snow, but it's probably going to delay our train even more. Maybe we should go back to your mum's for the night." She told him as he brought his food to the table. He had bought more then she had, a sandwich, a juice, a pastry and a cup of fruit. She laughed as he attempted to balance it all on a tray that was not meant for a whole meal.

He made a face as he carefully settled the tray on the table. "I am hungry, Simmons, we left my mum's hours ago!"

"And we may yet go back, if this snow keeps up. Or at least to a hotel. I don't think the trains will be running tonight." Simmons took a bite of her scone.

"How would we get back to mum's? We haven't got a car and she's probably nearly home by now, it's a long drive." His mother had dropped them at the station earlier in the day.

"We could get a room for the night if we need to. Surely there's a hotel nearby."

Fitz nodded, his mouth full.

"I'll call the train station and find out when they think the trains will start running again." She finished her scone and crumbled the napkin. "Too bad we didn't know the trains were going to be so late, we could've just stayed at your mum's. Oh well. It could be a lot worse then going to art galleries and coffee shops."

He had to agree with that. Being stuck in one of his favorite cities in the world with one of his favorite people, there were certainly worse situations to be in.

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Jemma looked disappointed when she returned to the table. "They said the tracks are blocked and that's why they've been delayed. It'll be sometime tomorrow, they think." She sighed and sat back down.

Fitz took the news calmly and took another bite of his sandwich. "We've got food. I'm sure between us we'd have enough money to grab a hotel room, we'd need to get our luggage from the depot though." He paused, "I really hope they didn't load it onto the train already."

She groaned. "I bet they did. It was supposed to leave hours ago." She looked rather upset.

"Hey, you know, we'll just get a room, watch some tv, it'll be fine." He tried to tell her. "Maybe we could rent a car?" It was a five hour drive to Sheffield.

"Fitz, its snowing. And don't you have to be twenty five? Neither of us is." She pointed out.

He had to give her that. Neither of them was. "So I guess we'll finish here and go see if we can find somewhere to stay tonight."

"I mean, we do have SHIELD IDs, it's possible we could get a car with those." She mused out loud.

"Yes, but if we can't, we should look for a place to stay." He crumpled his napkin up, shoving it into his plastic cup, "We should also get some more sandwiches, whether we end up on the road or in a room, we'll need food."

"You're always thinking about food."

"It's important!"

They bickered back and forth as they left the coffee shop. The wind had picked up and it was getting colder, which didn't help their moods any. They were both tired and stressed from the train delayment. It had been a pleasant afternoon, but they'd both expected to be on the train by nightfall.

They stumbled into the first hotel they found. The lobby was crowded. "We should have tried to get a room earlier," Simmons complained.

"Well, we didn't know we would need to." Fitz was not usually the optimistic one. He wondered where the dancing Christmas elf Simmons went.

She sighed and pushed through the crowd to the front desk. "We're looking for a room."

The man at the desk laughed. "You and everyone else. Sorry, but we're booked up. Try the place on the next street over."

"There's no need to be rude. She only asked a question." Fitz didn't like when people laughed at Simmons.

"Doesn't matter, there are no rooms." The man repeated.

Fitz rolled his eyes and grabbed Simmons' arm, "Let's go. I wouldn't want to stay here anyway."

They went back outside. Snow was now falling, to their dismay. "The rude man did say there was another place on the next street. I hope it isn't too far." Simmons shoved her hands in her pockets since she didn't have gloves. The snow didn't seem as pretty and magical as it had earlier in the day.

They trudged along, not speaking to each other, to the next street. The next hotel was brightly lit like the first but not as crowded. Fitz had some hope as he stepped up to the counter.

The red headed woman at the counter didn't look up as he approached. He waited a moment. "Excuse me, have you got any rooms left?"

She sighed and clacked away on a keyboard, her eyes never leaving the computer screen. "Yeah, sure, I've got one left."

He didn't think he'd ever pulled his wallet out so quickly. "I want it, for me and my friend here."

The woman still didn't look up but reached out for his credit card and identification. More clacking on the keyboard then," Mmmm, kay, you two have room 121."

"Thank you." Fitz took his cards and the room key from her. He went over to Simmons. "Victory is ours!"

She tried to give him a smile but felt like a frozen popsicle trying to do so. She followed him into the elevator. "Wish we'd been able to get our luggage. Wonder if it made it to England without us?"

"Maybe this is one of those hotels that has nice robes in the rooms?" Fitz suggested. He pressed the number 12 for their floor and the elevator started it's journey upwards.

"That would be great. Or maybe at least slippers?" Simmons suggested. "Did you notice a gift shop downstairs? We could get dry socks there probably if there is one."

Fitz shook his head, "I didn't see one."

"Oh well." She shrugged. "The room will be warm and dry, better then sleeping in the train station."

The elevator stopped and they stepped out, anxious to get into their room. "121, that's what she said." Fitz remembered. "Should be......" he turned to their right, "right down here."

The keycard opened the door easily. The pair walked in and stopped quite suddenly.

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The door snapped shut behind them as they stood together, silently staring.

"Did you not tell them there were two of us?" Simmons whispered.

"I don't know that I did. I just said we needed a room. The guy said it was the last one." Fitz wondered why they were whispering.

"Leo, there's one bed and two of us." She sounded exasperated.

He gathered his thoughts, some of which he didn't think he should share, and took a deep breath. "It's all right. I'll, um, I'll take the chair or something. You can have the bed." He sat down in the lone chair in the corner. It was a very hard chair and not comfortable. For Simmons though, Fitz would gladly sleep anywhere to make her comfortable.

Simmons sat on the edge of the bed. It had been a long day. She glanced at the bed, the chair and Fitz. She sighed and said, "It's a big bed. There's no reason you should sleep in that hard chair. We both need to sleep."

"Are you sure? I'd be fine over here. Maybe I could take a couple of the pillows?"

"Fitz, don't be ridiculous. We're both adults. We're not going to do anything. It's just one night. Here, I'll even put one of the pillows in the middle so we don't disturb each other." Simmons decided to try to make the best of it.

Fitz couldn't decide whether to argue with her or not. The bed certainly did look a lot more comfortable then the chair felt. He inched over to sit beside her on the bed. It was definitely more comfortable then the chair.

Simmons reached up and put one of the big pillows in the middle. "See, now we won't disturb each other." She scooted up towards the top, kicking her shoes off as she went. Throwing her coat onto the chair Fitz had abandoned, she slipped under the blankets, damp clothes and all. "I think I'm going to live in this bed. It's so warm and soft." She pulled the blankets to her chin, "I don't even care I have to sleep in my clothes."

Fitz tugged his shoes off. His socks weren't what he'd call dry so he pulled those off as well. Giving himself an internal motivational speech, he went to sit on his side of the big pillow barrier. Simmons was right, the bed was soft and warm and he had no desire to leave it for a long time. It felt to nice to just lay back, be warm, and watch the snow fall out the window, with Simmons beside him. That thought kept him awake. He and Simmons were in the same bed, together. He glanced over at her. It didn't seem to bother her much, she'd already dozed off.

He sat up in bed. The thought did bother him. He'd tried to talk himself into the idea of platonically sharing a bed for the night but it wasn't a comfortable idea. He did his best to hide his true feelings from Simmons and clearly, he'd done well.

Scrunching the large but flat hotel pillow into more of a bolster shape, Fitz put it behind him and leaned against the headboard. There were worse situations to be in.

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The morning sun was bright, waking Fitz earlier then he would've liked. He blinked awake. At first he wasn't quite sure where he was. Looking around, the previous day came back to him and he was startled to realized Simmons was sound asleep beside him.

It was a moment of panic. Frantically, he wondered if he should get out of bed first, should he wait for her to wake up, would it startle her to wake up and find him still in bed with her, the questions bounced around his head.

"Is it morning already, Fitz?" Simmons' sleepy voice broke into his thoughts.

"Yes, yes, it is. I was just getting up, did you want to use the bathroom first, or um, I think that's a coffee maker over there, do you want coffee or tea?" Fitz was babbling and he knew it and he knew Simmons knew it by the odd look she was giving him. He decided to ignore that and just get out of bed.

He hunted for his now dry but stiff socks on the chilly floor, glad to be doing anything other then having to explain to Simmons the awkwardness he was feeling.

She was sitting up in bed. "I suppose we could call the train station and see if the train is running yet. I hope it is, I'd like to sleep in my bed tonight. The pillows here were terrible."

"Great idea, I'll run down to the lobby and use the phone." Fitz hurriedly pulled his shoes on, not even tying the laces. He found his coat flung onto the corner chair under Simmons' and yanked it on.

Simmons blinked at him. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing wrong. Just want to get on our way to England. Be nice to be at your parents' house by tea, wouldn't it?"

"It would, yes." She had to agree with that.

"Then I'm going downstairs."

"Okay." She watched him practically lunge out of the room, wondering why he hadn't just used the phone in the room and why he hadn't even taken the time to tie his shoes.

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Fitz leaned against the wall in the hallway. He had acted like an idiot. He hadn't needed to be so awkward, Simmons certainly hadn't been. He took a deep breath, knelt, tied his shoes. Took another deep breath and started down the hall towards the elevator, berating himself since there really was a phone in the room.

The lobby was empty when he arrived. There didn't even seem to be anyone at the front desk. Outside, through the glass doors, Fitz could see the snow had stopped and it looked even more like a winter wonderland. He thought Simmons would like that.

He approached the front desk, looking around. It was almost eerie to be in the lobby alone. Not as weird as it had been to wake up in the same bed as Simmons, he decided. He didn't think much could top that experience.

"Hello?" He called out, wondering if anyone was around. "I'd like to use the phone, please." He was startled when a person with red hair suddenly popped up from behind the counter.

"Morning to you!" She said, brightly, "Isn't great the storm finally stopped? So glad I'll be able to go home today, wasn't able to last night."

Fitz nodded, agreeing without saying a word. "Can I use the phone?"

"Sure thing. Now, remember it's one of those older phones with a cord so you can't go sneaking off, okay?" She placed it on the counter between them.

Nodding again, he dialed the number on his train ticket. It was an automated system and he listened not so patiently to it until he heard the news they'd been waiting for.

"Yes!" Fitz practically shouted as he hung up the phone and started back upstairs to collect Simmons. He called back over his shoulder, "Thanks, room 121 is checking out now!" The elevator seemed to take forever as he impatiently tapped his foot and waited to reach their floor.

He fumbled with the room key, trying to get the door opened, when Simmons opened it. She looked surprised to see him.

"Good news then?" She asked him, "It's written all over your face."

"The train leaves in an hour, we'll just make it if we hurry over." He explained, excitedly. "In a few hours, we'll be at your parents' having tea."

"That will be lovely," Simmons agreed. "But first, let me tie my shoes and put on my coat. I'm sure it's still freezing outside."

"Looks like a winter wonderland."

"I hope the train is warm at least." She shrugged into her coat, buttoning every button. "The hotel was nice and warm, much better then sleeping in the train station."

Fitz pulled the door shut behind them. "We've got to hurry if we're going to make it."

Simmons gave him a look. "The station is a fifteen minute walk from here, we should have plenty of time."

He hurried her into the elevator, "But we don't want to be late and loads of people missed the train last night."

"I'm sure you're right, but why are you shoving me into the elevator?" She glared at him.

"I'm just anxious to get out of here."

"You need food. We'll eat on the train, they usually have something."

The elevator dinged that they'd arrived on the first floor, Fitz pulled Simmons along by her sleeve.

"I can run on my own, you know," she told him as they rushed through the lobby.

He opened the doors to the outside, a rush of cold air greeted them, silencing both of them. It was cold, snow everywhere and eerily quiet for a major city.
Fitz couldn't imagine anywhere else he'd like to be in that moment, holding hands with Simmons, as they made their way through a winter wonderland to the train station. Maybe someday, he could tell her how he truly felt.