Work Text:
Fitz turns down the volume of the television as the credits begin to roll. They didn’t talk much during the film, too absorbed in the story that greatly reflected their own circumstances – a group of people trying to understand an unknown phenomenon, with the protagonist wanting to help rather than harm.
They are stretched out on their shared bed, relaxing after their eventful mission. It was successful, with Daisy officially joining the team again, but there are still lingering ideas of everything that is to come. They decide to watch the film to push away these thoughts of their work ahead. Unfortunately, their film choice does little to distract from their reality.
Fitz leans back into his pillow, placing the remote beside him on the bed and rests his hands behind his head. “Did you like it? I thought it was fantastic, to be honest. A linguist trying to decipher an unknown alien language, doing whatever she can to avoid conflict. Reminds me of someone I know.” He smiles and bumps her arm with his elbow.
She doesn’t reply, too absorbed in her own thoughts to formulate a proper response.
“Jemma?”
He turns on his side to look at her, concerned by her silence, and finds her staring at the ceiling. It only takes him a few seconds to see the tear tracks staining her cheeks.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She gives him a half smile, closing her eyes and shrugs slightly. He’s instantly concerned, not satisfied with her answer, so he rolls over to her side of the bed and covers her body with his. She covers her face with her hands, attempting to downplay her emotions with little success. He curls one arm under her back and uses his other hand to gently stroke through her hair. They stay like this for quite some time, him not wanting to rush her into explaining herself.
Eventually she lowers her hands and curls them around his shoulders, pressing his chest closer to hers. She finally meets his eyes and lets out a jagged breath. “Sorry,” she whispers.
“You don’t have to apologize. Just want to know what’s going on.” He moves a piece of hair that’s fallen across her face, tucking it behind her ear.
She presses her lips into a thin line, trying to find the right words. “You were right. Louise does seem familiar.” She pauses, new tears threatening to fall. “But I don’t know if I’ll succeed like she does.”
He tilts his head to the side, registering the source of her concern. “Is this about your Inhuman?”
She swallows hard, forcing herself to focus. “What if I can’t find him? I’m…afraid of what they’re going to do to him, or worse, how they’re going to use him.” She struggles to get all her words out at once. “He was nervous, and he doesn’t have anyone to help him through his transition. I promised. I-I promised him I would help-“
“Hey, hey, hey.” He brushes his thumb across her cheek, catching her tears as the fall freely now. “Look at me.” He continues to cradle her cheek, and she eventually meets his eyes. “Look, if anyone can help him, it’s you. They bloody kidnapped you, and instead of putting up a fight, you stayed and did your job because that’s who you are. You’ll help someone no matter the circumstances.”
“But I don’t control the circumstances, they do.” Her voice is desperate, unable to comprehend a way out of her dilemma. “How are we supposed to know their agenda? We don’t know who he is or what his powers will be.”
“We don’t know now, but we will. What we do know is that the director is still hiding things from us, so that’s where we start. He has to have information about him. He owes you enough for getting you involved.”
Her tears have stopped, but her breathing is still uneven, so he pushes on. “We always find a way. We’ll start our search tomorrow. And you don’t have to do this by yourself. We’ll get Daisy to help us.” He tightens his hold around her, pleading for her to understand. “Louise wasn’t alone. She had help. Yes, she was the smartest person in the room, but she still relied on other people to help her. Let us help you.”
He presses his forehead into hers, and places his hands on the sides of her face. “We won’t stop until we find him, okay?” he whispers urgently.
She takes in a deep breath, and then lets it out slowly. “Okay.” Closing her eyes, she nods her head. “Tomorrow.”
He smiles and nods along with her. “Yeah. Tomorrow.”
Content that she’s past her emotional outburst, he places a kiss on her forehead and curls his hand into her hair. He continues to place kisses down her face – on the bridge of her nose, her cheeks, her jawline. He slows to place a kiss at the corner of her mouth, and then stops. She opens her eyes and finds him staring at her admirably.
She pushes his shoulders, indicating for him to shift so they’re facing each other on their sides, their faces an inch apart. His breath tickles her face as she locks onto his jaw, leaning in closer. She presses her lips against his, kissing him with every bit of love and adoration she has in her being. He melts into her, wrapping his arms around her waist. After reveling in their kiss for a few moments, she pulls away suddenly, a new thought entering her mind. “What would you do, if you could see time differently?” she asks out of breath, still holding onto his face.
“What do you mean?”
“Would you want to know what happens?”
He looks away for a second, processing her question. “I don’t know.” He pauses, considering the best way to frame his answer. “Part of me wants to know where we’ll end up, within S.H.I.E.L.D…” He reaches down to squeeze her hand. “...or elsewhere. But then again, I love not knowing. I have an idea of where we’re headed, of moments that will eventually come, but part of me doesn’t want to know.”
He looks up, meet her eyes again. “Because I want you to continue surprising each other.”
Her face lights up as a smile curls from her lips. “Yeah, me too.”
She shifts so she’s resting on his shoulder, her fingers drawing patterns on his chest. They stay like this for a while, their breathing the only sound in the room. Jemma closes her eyes, moving more comfortably into his side, enjoying the warmth from his closeness. She nearly drifts off until his voice breaks through the quiet.
“Guess I should’ve picked a comedy.”
She lets out a loud chuckle and buries her face into his chest. “No, I loved it, really. I’m glad we watched it.”
“But still, maybe a comedy next time.”
“Definitely.”