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Jemma and Fitz stood in front of the bathroom mirror, each taking a sink to wash up for the night. Both of them had already changed into their pyjamas, but they wore their shoes to walk through the base.
“I cleaned up you know,” Fitz told her, not for the first time that evening, and Jemma smiled fondly at him through her tooth brush, rolling her eyes.
She pulled her hair back so she could spit out her toothpaste into the sink, turning on the tap to rinse it down. “I know that already,” she teased. “It’s only the third time you’ve said it. I’m not sure what I’m expecting.”
Fitz, had already finished, but he stayed as she took off her makeup, leaning against the edge of the door and training his gaze on her. “You’ll hardly recognize it,” he predicted, bragging a little for her benefit she suspected. “I even added a few things for you.” Her eyebrows rose and he blushed, rubbing the back of his neck self consciously. “I mean… there’s a clock on your side and… well you’ll see.”
Warmth rose into her cheeks, prickling against the towel as she dried off her face. It was sweet, that he’d put so much effort into this. All they were doing was going to bed, but it was their first time making the decision to share a bed anyway. It seemed silly at this point, to go back to their respective rooms when they’d already ended up in each other’s on several occasions, sometimes seeking comfort after a nightmare, sometimes as a consequence of something much more pleasant. And they both agreed that they preferred sleeping next to each other. Even if Fitz snored and she talked sometimes in her sleep, he was warm and it was calming to hear the sound of his breathing in the darkness.
When she peeked up from the towel, she noticed him staring with a half smile on his face.
“What?” she asked, unable to keep herself from smiling back.
He shrugged, gesturing to her polka dotted pyjamas. “I don’t usually see you in like this it’s…” Another shrug and his cheeks blossomed pink. “It feels…”
“Nice,” she finished, taking in his loose grey shirt and flannel bottoms.
They softened his appearance, made him look more like the man she’d known in Sci-Ops, seeping a glimpse of the boy whose life she’d stumbled into at the academy so long ago. He’d grown up, just a she had, faster in the past few years than in all ten years together combined, but his soul had held onto it’s tenderness. They’d seen each other in their sleepwear before of course, but this was going to be the first night it became routine.
His smile widened and he held out his hand. “Ready?”
“Fitz we’re going to bed not the ball,” she mused but her hand slid comfortably into his and they strolled together through the halls of the Playground in peaceful silence.
This too was new, the hand holding, and she relished the press of his fingers against her skin, glowed at the connection between them. Hand holding, just like pyjamas, was an exciting discovery of their shifting relationship.
When they reached his room, Fitz opened the door for her, winding his hand around to flick on the light. “Welcome to your sleeping quarters… your highness.” His eyes widened the moment he said it and he snapped his mouth shut, mortified at the awkward blunder.
She smirked at him, pecking a kiss onto his cheek to tell him that she didn’t mind, before stepping inside.
The very first thing she noticed was that the bed was made. Not just made, but neatly set out with the blanket stretched out so flat she could have bounced a coin off of it, the front half pulled back invitingly to reveal smooth white sheets. Both pillows were fluffed and placed tidily beside each other and- probably the most endearing detail of all- a folded piece of cardboard paper read Welcome Jemma in his familiar hand writing.
Sure enough, he’d also left a clock on her bedside table and a box of tissues placed in a ceramic grey box. Between them he’d left a gold dusted plastic rose.
Her mouth opened to speak but words failed her as she turned to him. It was simple, such a seemingly little thing, but it was the attention to detail and his eyes which couldn’t leave her face, searching for her approval, that revealed the true depth of the gesture. He was welcoming her, not just into his room but into this once secret part of his life. This place was his sanctuary and he was asking her to share it with him.
“The rose is a bit much isn’t it?” he guessed uneasily.
He thought she didn't like it, she couldn't let him think that. Her head shook, no, it wasn’t, but she still didn’t know what to say. Instead she let her smile reach up to her eyes and stepped forward, holding his face between her palms to dot tiny kisses onto his cheek, his nose, his chin, quick pecks, giddy with joy. Half way through she started giggling, felt his smile stretch into the kiss she landed next to his mouth, and soon their elated laughter harmonized between each kiss, silenced for only a moment when she landed the final one onto his lips.
“So you like it then?” he chuckled, pulling her closer.
She nodded, bubbling with delight, and mumbled, “I do,” before pecking another kiss on his nose.
His eyes crinkled and nuzzled her cheek before planting his own kiss onto it, making her stomach static in a rush of exhilaration that wasn’t at all conducive to going to bed. She couldn’t care less; sleep could wait, she wanted to stay in this moment for as long as she could.
Her head tucked in, lips finding the crook of his neck. “This is real,” she breathed into it. “We’re here.” We made it.
He seemed to understand her unspoken words, bopping her with his nose so she’d tilt her chin up to see him grinning at her. “It’s real,” he told her warmly.
It was like walking in a dream, clouds under her feet and her body made of sunlight. A sudden understanding dawned on her, of what all the love songs she’d gone through life listening to meant, and she felt as if she’d fallen into one of them.
Bright daylight burst between them and when she leaned forward to kiss him, bells were ringing out in joy.