A/N: And we're finally at the end of the line! I honestly cannot thank you guys enough for your support of this story. All the favorites and amazing reviews have been wonderful and encouraging, and they seriously mean the world to me. I've absolutely loved writing this fic, and I'm so glad you guys have enjoyed it. Assuming my schoolwork doesn't kill me, I'll start work on another Fitzsimmons story sometime in the near future, so keep an eye out for that.

Thank you so much for reading! Enjoy!

The chapter title comes from "Bloom" by The Paper Kites.

Fitz looked around the now empty room with a smile on his face. Some of the other agents had done some tidying up, but stacks of extra plates and napkins were still sitting around on the tables and a teakettle still sat on the stove.

"Fancy a cuppa before bed?" Fitz asked Jemma, gesturing to the stovetop.

Jemma nodded, smiling sleepily.

Fitz stepped away to make the tea as Jemma returned to their previous seat on the sofa.

A couple minutes later, Fitz presented her with a mug filled with tea and dash of milk, just the way he knew she liked it.

She smiled at him in thanks as she folded her hands around the cup, sighing contentedly.

Fitz added sugar to his cup and took a seat beside her, Jemma immediately curling herself into his side again. Fitz pressed a kiss to the top of Jemma's head and thought to himself that he really wouldn't mind doing this for the rest of his life.

"You know," Jemma said after a moment, "this party was the second best present I've ever gotten." She smiled up at him.

Fitz narrowed his eyes. "And what was the best?"

Jemma smiled wider. "You." She leaned in and kissed him lightly before tucking herself back beneath his arm.

Fitz was glad that no one was around to see how much he was blushing. He still couldn't believe that Jemma felt the same way about him that he felt about her. Today alone made the past four months worth it. Fitz could have survived a whole year without Jemma if a day like today came at the end of it. Everything was finally okay.

The pair sat in comfortable silence as they sipped their tea. Finally, Fitz set his empty mug back on the table as Jemma did the same. He looped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug. "So did you have a good first day back?"

Jemma nodded and looked up to kiss him again, but a yawn stopped her.

Fitz laughed. "Trapped in a stasis chamber for four months, and you're still tired." He pulled away from her and grabbed her hand to pull her off the sofa.

"Hey! It's been a long day," Jemma tried to argue as she stood up, but she was again interrupted by a yawn.

Fitz grinned. "I know, Jemma." He ushered her toward the hallway that led to the bunks, his hand wrapped around hers. "Time for bed, then."

The pair walked slowly back to Jemma's bunk.

"Well, I guess this is where I say goodnight," Jemma said wistfully as they stopped in front of her door, her hand still locked in Fitz's, evidently as reluctant to let go as Fitz was.

Fitz suddenly remembered something. "Wait one minute, Jemma, I'll be right back." He turned and raced down the hallway toward his own bunk.

Jemma smiled at Fitz's retreating back and stepped into her room, keeping her door open for Fitz's return.

Jemma had been back in her room briefly to get dressed before her date with Fitz earlier, but she hadn't looked to see if anything had changed. As she glanced around now, everything seemed to be in place, the only addition being the vase sitting on her dresser that was filled with the flowers Fitz had given her. Jemma had texted Skye when they were driving to the restaurant to ask if she could find something to put them in since she hadn't wanted the beautiful blooms to wilt while they were away. Skye had eagerly dealt with the situation for her, and Jemma was glad to see the pink and blue flowers looking just as bright as they had when Fitz had given them to her hours before. In fact, the entire room was perfectly neat and clean.

Simmons narrowed her eyes and walked over to her very-tall bookshelf to test her hypothesis by swiping her fingers along the top. She pulled down her hand and checked her fingers. Just as she suspected: dusty. This entire room should be dusty – she'd been gone four months, after all – but everything looked immaculate; all her pictures, even the framed one of her and Fitz beside her bed, were spotless. Someone had dusted. It could have been Skye when she came in with the vase earlier, but Jemma didn't remember there being any dust anywhere when she had been in here getting changed, and besides, Skye rarely cleaned up her own room, let alone anyone else's.

But before she could consider the matter more seriously, Jemma realized that something was actually different in her room. One of her most prized possessions wasn't in its usual spot at the foot of her bed.

"Fitz…" He would know where it went.

"Yeah Jemma?"

Jemma whirled around. She hadn't realized he was back.

Fitz stood in the doorway, a sheepish smile on his face. "Here." He held out the missing article: her favorite blanket.

Jemma grinned, relieved. "I was just wondering where this was, thank you." She took it from Fitz and buried her face in it. Instead of the flowery laundry detergent smell that she had expected, there was something different. Tea and sugar and something that was almost like grease or metal. Jemma smiled to herself. The blanket smelled like Fitz.

She looked up at him. "You've been using this."

Fitz avoided her gaze. "I missed you, and it reminded me of you, so…"

Jemma inhaled deeply. "It smells like you now."

That got Fitz's attention. He looked up at her, his eyebrows raised. "Does not. It still smells like you. That's… that's why I took it."

Jemma moved closer to him. "No, it smells like tea and sugar and metal or something. That's what you smell like."

Fitz inhaled but then shook his head. "You can't smell it as well anymore, but it still smells like you. Tea and cinnamon and flowers and science."

Jemma raised her eyebrows. "Science?"

Fitz rubbed the back of his neck. "It smells like the lab. Antiseptic or something. I don't know. It's you."

Suddenly the half a foot between them was too much, and Jemma dropped the blanket and wrapped her arms around Fitz's neck, pressing her lips to his.

The kiss was slow and sleepy, but it was Fitz, and that was everything. He tasted like tea and too much sugar, and Jemma had never thought she could be this happy. Those months floating through space missing Fitz and wanting to come home felt a million years away as Fitz's hands tightened around her waist.

It had been months since she had realized that she did feel something for Fitz, but that potential, that "maybe there is" was nothing compared to how she felt about Fitz now. He had done so much to help her. He had saved her life more than once, and he had laid everything on the line when he told her how he felt in the med pod. But it was the little things that Jemma loved about him the most. How he hadn't pressed her for information or explanation when she'd returned to base. How he kept her close to make sure she didn't disappear again. How excited he had been when she had told him that she loved him too. How flustered he got when their friends had teased them at the party. How he always knew exactly how she wanted her tea.

Jemma had found that being with Fitz was as natural as breathing. She knew that if they had gone on their date four months before, both of them would have been awkward bundles of nerves, but their time apart had made them both realize how precious their time together was. It was pointless for them to worry about their relationship or what the rest of the base thought about them or how they should act around each other. They were happy together and perfectly in love, and Jemma wouldn't have had it any other way.

"I love you, Fitz," Jemma whispered, her mouth ghosting across his.

Fitz replied with another kiss. "I love you too."

Jemma let herself move back slightly, her forehead leaning against Fitz's as they smiled unashamedly at each other.

Jemma leaned down to pick up the blanket from the floor. "When did you take this?" she asked curiously.

Fitz's smile dimmed slightly. "You'd been gone about three days. I couldn't sleep without having some part of you near me. Sometimes it almost felt like you were home."

Jemma wrapped her arms around Fitz, hugging him tightly. It was awful thinking about what Fitz must have gone through when she disappeared. She knew that if it were Fitz who had been eaten by a giant alien rock, she would have barely been able to function. She pressed a kiss to his hair. "Well I'm back now if that counts for anything."

Fitz smiled down at her. "That counts for everything."

Jemma looked up at him hesitantly. "Fitz, would you maybe stay with me tonight? I just, I think I'd sleep better if you were here."

The smile she got from Fitz in return was worth the months she had been gone. "Of course, Jemma. I think I'd sleep better too. Just let me go get changed." He turned to the hallway. "I'll be right back."

Jemma smiled, relieved. "Perfect."

Once he had gone and shut the door behind him, Jemma quickly slipped into a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt that she had definitely stolen from Fitz back at Sci-Ops and then stepped into the bathroom for a few minutes.

She had expected Fitz to be waiting at her door when she returned, but when she stepped out to check, the hallway was empty. Frowning, Jemma started to close the door, but the sound of voices down the hall stopped her.

"You better take good care of her, Fitz." It was Skye. "I know we've been through a lot together, but I've known Simmons just as long as I've known you, so don't think I'm gonna side with you if something happens."

Jemma could almost hear Fitz's eyeroll. "Nothing's gonna happen, Skye. It's Jemma. I'm not losing her again. I couldn't do that."

There was a pause and the sound of movement.

"What did I say about crushing me?" Fitz complained, and Jemma realized that Skye must have given him a hug.

Skye ignored his comment. "You really love her, don't you, Fitz?" Skye's voice was softer now.

"Well, yeah," Fitz said, just barely loud enough for Jemma to hear. "I've loved her for a pretty long time."

"She really loves you too," Skye added. "As soon as we mentioned your name when we found her, she got all distracted like you were all she could think about. And you should have seen her face when I started teasing her about you guys' date." Skye laughed. "Bright red."

"When did you find out about our date?" Fitz asked suspiciously.

"Simmons told me on the plane," Skye said breezily, and Jemma could easily imagine the self-satisfied grin on her friend's face.

"So that's how Coulson found out." Fitz sounded exasperated but resigned to the fact that their teammates were interfering gossips who couldn't stay out of other people's business. "But I guess I can't be annoyed. Tonight was… it was the best night of my life, Skye." Fitz sighed. "I feel like I'm living in a dream. Like all of this is too good to be true. I'm half convinced I'm gonna wake up tomorrow and find that I've been asleep at my desk in the stone room this whole time."

Skye laughed. "Don't worry, Fitz. This is definitely real. And so is Simmons, who you should definitely go sleep with rather than talk to me."

"We're not-"

"I know, I know," Skye interrupted Fitz's indignant reply. "It was just a joke." She laughed again. "This really was a great day wasn't it?"

"Yeah it was." Jemma could hear the smile in Fitz's voice. "Goodnight, Skye."

"Night Fitz."

Jemma shut the door quietly so Fitz wouldn't know that she had been listening to his conversation, but she couldn't help smiling at Fitz's words. How had she ever gotten this lucky?

There was a hesitant knock, and Jemma opened the door, smiling at Fitz's plaid pajama pants and t-shirt that was very similar to the one she was wearing.

His eyes narrowed as he examined her outfit. "Okay, that's definitely my shirt," he said after a moment.

"So?" Jemma replied. "I steal your shirt, you steal my blanket. We're even."

"That's definitely not the same thing," Fitz argued back. "You weren't here!"

"Is too," Jemma said, grinning as she threw her covers back and hopped into bed. "But I'm too tired to argue, Fitz. Can you get the light?"

Fitz flicked the switch and then slid in beside her.

Jemma settled quickly under his arm with her head on his chest and sighed contentedly.

"Fitz," she said after a moment, thinking about what he had just said to Skye.

"Yes, Jemma?"

"When did you realize that you, you know, loved me?"

Fitz moved so they were face-to-face in the near-darkness. His eyebrows were raised. "Why?" he asked, unsure.

Jemma played with the hem of his shirt, avoiding Fitz's eyes. "I heard you tell Skye in the hallway that you'd loved me for a long time, and I just wondered how long."

Fitz laughed. "Listening in on my conversations now, Simmons. What's next?"

Jemma smiled up at him teasingly. "If you didn't want me to hear it then you should have been quieter."

"Oh, so it's my fault?"

"Of course it's your fault," Jemma leaned up to kiss his cheek. "But really, Fitz. When?"

Fitz shook his head, smiling softly, but then he looked thoughtful. "I'm not completely sure." He shrugged. "The first time I definitely felt something was the day you jumped out of that plane with the alien virus. I thought I was going to lose you, and it terrified me." Jemma scooted closer to Fitz so she could wrap her arms around him.

She remembered that horrible day vividly. The situation was hopeless, but Fitz had been there by her side the entire time. That was the first time he'd saved her life. Without him, there was no way she would have figured out the antiserum. She hadn't been exaggerating the previous year when she told Bobbi that she couldn't imagine her life without Fitz; Jemma wouldn't even have had a life to live without Fitz.

Jemma moved back after a moment, and Fitz continued. "And then when Trip came along and you two started spending lots of time together, I was just a little bit, uh… jealous." He stared down at the blanket, avoiding her gaze.

Jemma laughed. "Oh Fitz." She shook her head. "So that's why you were always so short with him."

Fitz looked down sadly. "I wish I could apologize. I really wasn't very nice."

Neither of them spoke for a moment, their thoughts both with their teammate whose absence had been keenly felt at their earlier gathering in the lounge. Everyone always missed Trip when the whole gang got together. Something always felt a little off without him there.

Fitz finally shook his head, returning to the previous topic. "But seeing you with Trip was what made me realize for sure that this wasn't just me caring about my best friend, this was… more than that."

"More than that," Jemma repeated, an echo from the med pod at the bottom of the ocean. No longer would those words haunt her as one of the last things Fitz had said to her before everything had changed. Now Jemma heard them and smiled.

Fitz moved back to his original position, and Jemma cuddled up next to him again.

"Jemma?" Fitz spoke this time.

"Yeah?"

"What did you wish for earlier, when you blew out the candles?"

Jemma smiled to herself in the darkness. "I thought if I told anyone it wouldn't come true."

Fitz scoffed and Jemma stifled a laugh in his chest.

After a moment, Jemma finally spoke. "Us."

"What?"

"That's what I wished for," Jemma explained. "For us to be happy and together, just like we should be."

She could almost feel Fitz's smile behind her as he pressed a kiss into her hair.

Eventually, Fitz's breathing began to slow beneath her.

"Fitz?"

This time it took Fitz a second to answer. "Yeah, Jemma?" He had clearly been about to fall asleep when Jemma had spoken.

"Did you dust my bedroom?"

Fitz said nothing for a moment. "I, well, yeah. It needed dusting."

Jemma smiled widely and turned to look up at him. "I love you, Fitz. So much."

Fitz kissed her forehead, his eyes already shutting. "Love you too, Jemma. Always. Now sleep."

This time Jemma let Fitz fall asleep. She felt Fitz's arm tighten around her unconsciously, and she smiled, feeling like everything made sense for the first time in a long time.

It was good to be home.