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He wasn't quite sure why it all seemed so magical. Surely, a few flowers arranged into the shape of a cartoon mouse was not enough to elicit a response such as this. And yet, something about the smell in the air, the California sun, and the hand he was holding gave him a very odd sense of nostalgia.
"I can't believe that we're actually in Disneyland, Fitz."
Fitz took in the delightful panorama around him and groaned.
"I can't believe that we've got the whole place to ourselves, and Mack is making us work."
"Oh cheer up, Fitz," Jemma soothed. "Do you know how long it's been since we've gone after an 084?"
He turned to her just in time to catch the sparkle in her eyes, and he was about to grab her by the waist and kiss her right there when he heard someone clear their throat.
"I hate to say it, mate," said Hunter, "but if I can't snog on the clock, I'm not sure why you can."
"He's just jealous, as usual," Bobbi chimed in. "You two are better at following protocol than anyone." She eyed Hunter. "Right?"
Hunter looked from Bobbi to Fitz, then back to Bobbi before he shrugged and walked away with more speed than Fitz thought necessary.
"Alright," called Mack, "do you all know your assignments?"
Fitz looked over at Jemma as the group answered in the affirmative and started their trek to Frontierland. Usually, he assumed, this place must be filled with all kinds of people—children dragging their parents behind, couples escaping back to childhood—and here they were, the only residents of this wonderful place, and he was expected to go muck about in a river.
At least, he thought, he had Jemma with him.
It seemed that there was a world in Jemma's smile, and perhaps a universe in the way she lit up with every attraction they passed by. He could only imagine what it would be like to watch her actually enjoy them. Surely, they weren't needed for the entirety of the operation. Weren't Bobbi and Hunter experienced enough to do some diving without supervision? The Rivers of America couldn't be that deep. And, after all, it seemed a shame to leave all these employees with nothing to do.
"You like roller coasters," Fitz whispered to Jemma as they readied their equipment. "It's right there, Jemma. It wouldn't take more than five minutes. They wouldn't even notice we were gone!"
When Jemma turned to him and pursed her lips, Fitz saw nothing but an argument for a thousand other things they could do in five stolen minutes.
"We're here under orders, Fitz. This 084 could be dangerous."
"In Disneyland? Nothing could ever be dangerous in Disneyland."
"Well, an object can't decide to not be deadly once it enters the premises."
"Of course not," he agreed, "it's the magic."
"The magic?" she shot back, though her smile betrayed her amusement. "There's no such thing as magic, Fitz."
"Oh?" He stepped into her space and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Are you sure about that?" The look she gave him in response left him absolutely breathless, and he was sure that his point was definitively proven when their monitor beeped, and they both jumped three feet in the air. Somehow, Jemma's hands found his waist on the way up, and she was laughing into his chest by the time they came back down. He wrapped his arms around her in a sudden desperation to have her closer, and was rewarded with the way his heart leapt when Jemma placed a kiss on his chest. They stood there for a moment, silently enjoying the presence of each other while Fitz ran his fingers through her hair and felt Jemma smile against him.
"I'm so happy, Fitz," she finally said.
"Well," he answered, "this is the happiest place on Earth."
She looked up at him, giving another roll of her eyes as she stood on her toes to kiss his lips.
"You know very well that that has nothing to do with it."
And as she unraveled their embrace and checked the monitor, Fitz was sure she winked at him.
"How's it going down there, Bobbi?" asked Jemma through the comm.
"Not much to tell,"answered Bobbi, "except that it's actually clean. I'm impressed. I thought there'd be Mickey-shaped garbage everywhere."
"Americans," groaned Hunter.
"Yes, Hunter?"
Jemma eyed Fitz.
"Hunter, were you going to say something?"
"Well, they're happy to keep things tidy when there's money involved," he added.
"I think you're just jealous of our perfect teeth."
"Am not!"
Fitz was about to interrupt when Daisy and Lincoln joined them.
"We can take over if you need a break," she offered.
Fitz looked over at Jemma at the same time she looked at him.
"Daisy," said Jemma, "I'm not sure you're qualified—"
"He's a doctor." Daisy tilted her head towards Lincoln. "And I'm sure I can vibrate them out if there's any—"
"That's not a valid—"
"We'll be fine, Simmons," assured Lincoln. "Go have fun. If anything goes wrong, you'll be the first to know."
Jemma was just coming around to the idea when Fitz took her by the hand and pulled her towards the Thunder Mountain Railroad.
"Fitz," Jemma admonished behind him, "you can't buy the whole store."
There was truth to that, he thought, as he looked at the variety of offerings before them. How would they carry it all?
"I'm not buying the whole store," he countered, "I just want us to have the whole experience. And that means souvenirs. We just need something to—hang on."
He stood gaping in front of a set of shirts that read "I'll be your Mickey" and "I'll be your Minnie." Jemma's attempt at a scowl was the grandest failure he'd ever seen from her, and it wasn't long before they were strolling through Cinderella's castle in their new apparel, hand in hand.
"So," said Fitz, "what's next? We could do teacups, or Mr. Toad's Wild Ride? I've heard people rave about Peter Pan."
"We should probably get back," Jemma said, ducking her head. "We've been gone too long already. It's selfish."
Fitz gaped at her. "Selfish? Us? I dive through holes in the universe, and you rescue people from the bottom of the ocean. We're the least selfish people in this whole park, really. Besides, we have yet to enjoy a quintessential Disney experience."
"Oh?" Jemma stopped to regard him carefully. "What's that?"
Fitz waggled his eyebrows at her. "Hats.
"You two are adorable," cooed Daisy.
Fitz felt his cheeks grow warm, and he itched a spot under his Mickey ears.
"You insisted on giving us a break," Jemma defended. "How's it coming?"
Daisy blinked at them. "Oh, the mission? It's over. They found the whatever-it-is about ten minutes ago. Bobbi and Hunter are drying off."
"Oh? What is it, exactly?"
Daisy narrowed her eyes at Jemma. "You want to go on Splash Mountain? That's a great idea. Let's go!"
"But—"
"C'mon, Simmons, we can figure it out when we get home. After all, won't your lab equipment at the Playground get jealous? And do you have any idea how long the line usually is for this thing?"
By the time Daisy had finished presenting her argument, a slightly damp Hunter and Bobbi had appeared, and the six of them had already started walking in the right direction. Fitz pulled out his phone.
"What are you doing?" asked Jemma.
Fitz showed her his screen. "Can you imagine waiting over an hour to go on this thing? That's it—next time we're coming here, we're doing it just like this. I don't care if we have to stage an 084 sighting.
Jemma squeezed his hand and leaned against him as they walked.
"Oh, Fitz."
"Arg! Of course this happens to me." Fitz looked up from his soaked lap. "It's the curse, Jemma."
"Oh, I'm sure it is," she said through a grin. "I'm sure it was a cosmic conspiracy, and not the fact that we just went on a log ride, that caused your current predicament."
Fitz glared at her. "I look like I wet myself, Jemma."
"Well, Fitz," said Hunter as he clapped him on the back. "There's really only one remedy for that. We'll have to go again!"
Fitz's protestations were lost among the sounds of agreement, and Fitz was about to continue with greater volume when Jemma pulled him towards her and gave him a searing kiss that warmed him to his toes.
Daisy gagged, Hunter whooped, and Bobbi remarked that she'd never seen Lincoln look so uncomfortable in her life. But Jemma simply watched Fitz with her soft, brown eyes and asked Fitz if he was happy.
"Of course, I'm happy," he said, taking her hand and leading her towards the entrance to the ride, "this is the happiest place on Earth."