Work Text:
Fitz had to admit that S.H.E.L.D. Corporations knew how to throw an over the top party. It was more than he was expecting. Not that it was his first time at a party like this. You didn’t work at Stark Industries without going to a few lavish and over the top parties at least once a month. But for Fitz those parties were just business. He hardly ever went for the fun on it. Not that he would call these parties fun, especially this one. If there was one type of parties he hated the most it was Valentine’s Day parties.
It wasn’t because he was bitter about not having a date or being single, he didn’t mind that. It was that he felt it was an overrated holiday. A couple shouldn’t wait for a special day each year to show how much they loved each other. It should’ve been an everyday thing.
So why was he at a party, for a business he didn’t even work for, on a day that he absolutely despised?
Because, Ward his roommate that also worked for S.H.E.L.D. had told him Jemma Simmons would be at this party. When he was growing up in Glasgow he read newspapers about a child genius in Sheffield. As he grew he kept tabs on her work and continued to hope that one day their paths would align. However they took different paths in life and Fitz soon made peace with the fact that maybe he would never meet the smart scientist that made him feel like less of an outsider growing up.
But now Ward had presented him with the chance to meet her and he took it.
Except he had been at the party for over two hours and had yet to see her. And Grant had walked away just about the moment they arrived. Fitz had so far kept himself busy with the food and open bar but he was tired and needed air. Spotting a door that led to a balcony Fitz made his way over before opening it, stepping outside, and closing the door behind him.
It wasn’t until he turned around that he noticed eyes staring at him. And a familiar face. The face of the person he came here for. He racked his brain for something, anything to say but nothing came to mind. Instead she smiled and held up her hand that carried a heart shaped napkin, one of the many heart shaped items at the party.
“I always hate how anatomically incorrect these things are. I know real hearts aren’t as attractive, but as a biologist it annoys me.” She said while glaring at the heart. He laughed.
“Yeah, its, um, one of the many things I dislike about Valentine’s day.” He admitted. Her eyes grew bigger before she broke out into a smile.
“You hate the holiday too?” He nodded. “I actually didn’t want to come tonight, but it was kind of mandatory. Such a silly holiday in all honestly.”
“Me neither.” He admits before taking a deep breath. He could do this. “I came to meet you actually. I’-“
“You’re Fitz. I know exactly who you are. Your work is absolutely brilliant.” This stunned him. While he knew who she was, he had never expected that maybe she had been keeping tabs on him as well. Giving her a smile he walked until he was right next to her and she smiled back.
From there they ended up trading stories of how they grew up, work, and current projects. And after that they talked about anything and everything they could think of.
Then Jemma had leaned into him and his heart began to beat rapidly. She wanted to kiss him. Out of all the ways he expected tonight to go this wasn’t one of them. Not that he wasn’t happy about it, in fact he was thrilled.
As she leaned in, closer and closer, he closed his eyes and was about to kiss a woman he’d been dreaming about for years, when there was a knock on the door.
Both of them looked over to the glass door to see who the cause of interruption was. From what he could see it was a brunette girl around their age. The way she was leaning against the door gave him the impression that she had a bit much to drink.
Jemma looked up at him slightly embarrassed. “That’s my friend Skye and I’m her ride home.” Then she opened up the clutch she was holding and pulled at a pen and grabbed his hand. “This is my number if you ever want to talk more about the projects we’re working on.” Just as she was about to pull away he grabbed her hand.
“Or if I wanted to ask you out someday?” He asked. She smiled.
“Especially if you want to ask me out someday.”
**
Jemma sighed in relief the moment their last guest was gone and Fitz had shut the door. He had barely turned around before she latched her lips onto his.
She was happy with their new home. It had everything she wanted and more. It certainly wasn’t a house, anyone with an S.H.I.E.L.D. budget could afford, but apparently for someone who worked for Tony Stark, the price had been no big deal.
And apparently their friends thought it was a nice house too. Because at any given time, since she and Fitz had moved in last week there was always someone over, whether they were invited or not. Neither one of them wanted to be rude and turn away their friends, and had to pay the ultimate price.
Fortunately Trip and Lance had just left, and she was sure that they would have no more guests seeing as today was Valentine’s Day and, she had a goal that needed to be started. Right. Now.
It was time to start christening the house.
No room would be left untouched.
This is why she found herself being propped up against the front door, with Fitz’s mouth roaming down her neck. Her hands were currently buried in his curls, breath hitching whenever Fitz found a particularly sensitive spot.
Fitz rocked roughly against her and they both shared a moan and her ache for him to deepen. She knew they both probably wouldn’t last long, but there was plenty of time to make up for it.
His hands were finally heading to where she needed them to be, when he suddenly stopped and pulled away from her, forcing her to unwrap her legs from his waist and place her feet on the ground.
“Did you hear that?” He asked, frowning a bit.
“What? No” She said a bit curtly before grabbing his face and bringing his lips back down to hers. Their kiss only lasted for a moment before Fitz broke away.
“You really can’t hear that noise?” He asked before opening the door. They both peered down only to see a very small brown kitten, mewling pathetically on the porch.
Fitz bent down to pick it up almost immediately and the cat stopped its noise and instead seemed to snuggle against her boyfriend’s chest. “We should keep it.” He suggested. His smile was so big that Jemma, knew she wouldn’t have the heart to tell him no. Instead she just nodded.
“Now can we get back to what we were just doing?” She said and Fitz looked almost scandalized.
“Jemma, we have to take care of Monkey first. We can get back at it later.”
“We aren’t naming our cat Monkey and it’ll be fine.”
They argued back and forth until she finally gave in, with the promise that he would make up for it later.
And that is how she ended up in PetSmart on Valentine’s Day.
**
For a moment there was a lot of blurriness before the screen cleared and Jemma was smiling at him.
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there with you today. I hate that I have to miss our third anniversary.” He knew she had have been feeling bad about it, because she almost never acknowledged the date as their anniversary. True to her word she really did hate Valentine’s Day. She also hated that their anniversary fell on such a cliché day.
Still it wasn’t her fault that her company decided to send her to a work convention. As head of the science division she was needed and he understood that.
“It’s fine love. Your work is important too and we’ll celebrate as soon as you’re back.” She smiled warmly at him, before she squinted her eyes and leaned closer to the screen.
“Have you grown stubble?” She asked before leaning back into her chair. “I’ve been gone for 10 days and you’re already stopped taking care of yourself.” He shrugged but he could feel his face getting warm. He had been so busy with his own work, that he hadn’t taken the time to shave. He didn’t realize that it had gotten that noticeable.
“Sorry.” He said, but she only smiled then winked.
“Don’t be a like it. Makes you look very…sexy.” She said with a mischievous grin. This only caused him to blush harder.
“So how’s work been?” He asked trying to change the subject, but Jemma wasn’t having it.
“I didn’t ask you to talk so that we can talk about work. I had something else in mind.” She slowly stood up and moved her chair out of view before standing at a position that allowed for the camera to have her whole body on display. “Just because we have to postpone our celebration doesn’t mean I can’t give you a preview.” She said before shrugging off her white robe.
Fitz felt his tongue go dry and he was sure his jaw was hanging open. Jemma was left in nothing but red laced lingerie. It wasn’t his first time seeing her in lingerie but something about how unexpected this all way made her that much sexier.
He continued to watch as she slowly around, showing off her body. In the three years they had been together, Fitz had learned quickly that Jemma liked to tease. This was all the harder because this times it would be days before he would be able to soothe his need for her.
After she was down she sat back down in front of the camera giggling at his expression. “I’m guessing you love this?”
“I love you.” He blurted out before he could help himself. This only made her laugh more.
“I love you too sweetheart. Now, it’s only fair that you take something off too.”
He scrambled to lift his short off, but a knock on her side made him pause. She excused herself and put her robe back in before opening the door. He could only hear low mutters, but he hoped it was nothing too important.
Sadly it was. “Sorry Fitz, but there’s been a problem with the project and I need to check it out.” After that they said their goodbyes before logging off.
He headed to bed soon after, with Monkey resting on his stomach.
Three more days and he’d have Jemma back.
**
“You’re not supposed to be in here.” Is the first thing he says to her. The second thing is “Whoa.”, as his eyes roam her dress.
“I’m glad you like the dress. It was just about the only thing our mothers and I agreed on during this entire process."
She lets out a sigh as she remembers how much torture she endured. Their mothers had been very controlling and Jemma mostly felt as if they were planning their dream wedding instead of hers.
She had put up with so much she figured, sneaking in and seeing Fitz before they were due down the aisle could be excused.
“You look beautiful.” He said before pulling her into a short kiss. For a few minutes they stood in comfortable silence. Fitz’s fingers were playing with hers but their eyes were on each others. As if they were trying to take it all in. As if they were only now truly seeing each other for the first time.
She figured that was typical. At first they only knew each other from far away, through articles, and for the last few years they knew each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. Today and for the rest of their lives they would know each other as husband and wife.
She knew that wasn’t a big change from how they were, but it seemed like a big deal.
“We’re getting married.” She said softly breaking the silence. Fitz smiled.
“I suppose we are. Otherwise we’d look a little ridiculous wearing a dress and tux.” She attempted to pull one of her hands away from his so that she could give him a little shove for being such a prat, but he only pulled her closer and kissed her.
This kiss lasted longer than the one they shared a few minutes ago, but not as long as she would’ve liked. She pulled away and he rested his forehead on hers.
“I should go before one of our mothers find us and kill us.” But she stayed in place not moving at all.
“Maybe just a few more seconds?” He suggested and she nodded.
Eventually she did have to leave but not before giving him another kiss.
After she got back to her dressing room she was swarmed by Skye and Bobbi, who were both determined to make her look as perfect as possible.
And when she finally walked down the aisle with her father she was happy to see that Fitz looked just as in awe of her now as he had when he first saw her dress.
They both smiled widely through the ceremony and when it came time to the vows she hoped she wouldn’t cry too much (Skye and Bobbi would never forgive her for messing up her makeup).Just when Fitz opened his mouth, the sprinkler went off, followed by the fire alarm.
Luckily everyone exited out of the building in an orderly fashion and no one got hurt, but everyone was soaked. And it was dark outside which meant it was cold, and Jemma was regretting letting her mother talk her into an evening wedding.
About 15 minutes later the fire department came to investigate what had happened. It had turned out, John Garret, a co-worker at S.H.I.E.L.D. she only invited to be polite, had snuck off to the bathroom to smoke and ended up triggering the alarm.
By then there was nothing they could do. The building had to be cleared out for another wedding happening in an hour, and the minister had another event to be at. There was no way they could cancel the reception, however since everything had already been paid for.
So she and Fitz made an announcement encouraging everyone to proceed to the building where the reception would take place. They would just have to get married at City Hall on a later date.
Despite all of this she managed to have fun. She got to dance with her friends and family. She even got a good laugh when Skye caught the bouquet prompting Ward to give her a wink. Trip and Mack sweet talked just about every woman to dance with them. And Fitz never strayed from her side.
Maybe the day hadn’t gone as planned but it was still a good one.
Hours later after most of the guests had left and the space was almost clean and everyone that was still there was a little tipsy Jemma saw her boss Phil and his wife Melinda approach.
“We didn’t have time to buy a gift.” Phil admitted looking a little embarrassed.
“Sir, that’s perfectly fine, we’re just happy you came.” She said, hoping to relieve him of his guilt.
“But maybe there’s still time.” Phil said. “A little birdie,” he started nodding at Skye, “let it slip that you did all of this mostly to please your parents. They also let it slip that all you really wanted, was a small wedding surrounded by your friends and parents. Maybe we can help you out with that.”
Jemma looked up at Fitz, but he seemed just as confused as her.
“I have a marriage officiate license.” Melinda said. “So if you don’t mind, I can get you two married as a gift.”
So surrounded by family and friends and utterly exhausted she and Fitz were married by Melinda and neither could’ve been any happier. After it was all said and done she was ridiculously happy and by the look of Fitz’s face so was he.
Both she and Fitz made sure to thank Phil and May once again. After a few moments Phil looked down at his watch and let out a whistle. “It’s almost two in the morning we should head out.”
It was only after he was gone that the words registered with Jemma.
“Almost two? That would mean, it’s the next day, that today’s date is the fourteenth.” She groaned, throwing her head back. “Bloody hell Fitz, we got married on Valentine’s Day.
**
“I don’t think it’s a good idea Jemma.” He said making sure to put a little distance between them.
“Fitz, you know as well as I know that it’s perfectly safe to have sex, despite my being pregnant. “ She said in an exasperated tone. He knew that tone well. It was the one she used on him whenever she thought he was talking nonsense. But he felt what he felt and suddenly none of this seemed like a good idea.
“He kicked, rather harshly when we were kissing. I don’t think he liked it.” And that was putting it rather lightly. Lately Jemma’s hormones seemed to be in overdrive and it had them in the bedroom more than usual. This time was different, however because during a particularly heated moment the baby kicked.
Both had thought nothing of it at first, but the kicking persisted and didn’t stop until he pulled away. Maybe they could try again at this later, but he decided to take the kicking as a warning.
Jemma sighed before grabbing his hand. “Fitz, kicking is completely normal you know this. It didn’t mean anything. Now can you please come back here and finish what you started? He nodded hesitantly before moving back over to her side of the bed.
It took him a moment to relax back into it, but he eventually did only for the kicking to start again. This time he separated from her once again and as soon as he did the kicking stopped. Jemma frowned at him giving him a pleading look but he shook his head. It only made her lay down and turn away from him. He felt guilty and he wanted to fix it.
“Jemma?”
Nothing.
“Jemma?”
Again nothing.
“Happy Valentine’s Day.”
He was met with a pillow to his face.