This is an idea that came into my head probably about a month ago, and I couldn't shake it so I had to make a story out of it. It's not my best piece of writing since M-rated (sexually-explicit content) is a bit out of my comfort zone, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Also, this is my first time writing smut so go easy on me!

Jemma couldn't shake the pang of dread forming in her gut as she paced anxiously back and forth in her bedroom. She fidgeted with her hands, fighting off the urge to nibble on her fingernails, a nervous habit she used to have when she was a child. Was she really going to do this now, when she and Fitz still had a million things to sort out? How did she even come up with this idea in the first place?

The tension between her and Fitz had been dissipating slowly ever since he came back from Maveth, but something was still keeping them apart. It had only taken one day for Fitz's guilt to eat him up enough inside to come clean to Jemma about what really happened on that planet. Although the outcome was nowhere near Fitz's fault- she couldn't count how many times she had to repeat those words to him over the past couple of weeks- she still took the news pretty hard and eventually, they had collapsed into each other's arms, sobbing out their apologies and grief to each other, completely immersed in the feeling of despair the Hydra Inhuman had instilled into both of them. Fitz did his best to give Jemma space after that as she came to terms on her own time with both Will's death and allowing Lash to kill all of the Inhumans.

The crawl back to each other wasn't easy, but the separation soon allowed Fitz and Jemma to view the world around them more clearly, and once they had both dealt with their inner demons on their own, the nature of their relationship evolved in small increments. Reassuring hands on the shoulders were gradually replaced with temple and neck kisses, and sometimes Fitz found the courage to wrap his hands around her waist and nuzzle his chin into her shoulder from behind as she worked, making her heart swell with warmth and affection for her best friend. And of course there was the occasional peck on the lips every now and then whenever one of them left the room.

But nothing extended beyond those little shows of affection and things would always return to normal. Or whatever "normal" meant for them these days.

Jemma had finally grown frustrated enough with the mixed signals to confront Fitz about it, and he asked her out on a date in response, promising that they would talk things over dinner. However, they had gotten so caught up in their nostalgic Academy flashbacks and their debate about CRISPR gene editing that the thought of ruining the amicable atmosphere had completely escaped their minds. It was only when they had arrived back at the base and Jemma gently led him to her room that they were reminded of the cloudiness that had suddenly encompassed their relationship.

"Jemma, are you okay? "Fitz asked as he sat on her bed and watched her fret. "You're acting sort of strange."

"I'm fine," she brushed off quickly, wringing her hands out one last time before she came to a halt in front of him. "I just...we need to talk, that's all."

Concerned, Fitz took her hand in his and gently stroked the back of her hand with his rough, calloused thumb. "You can tell me anything," he reassured her. "Why are you so nervous?"

She pursed her lips together and took a couple of steps back. "There's something I want to tell you- well, propose to you actually, but I don't know how you'll respond."

Fitz shifted slightly on Jemma's bed and tilted his head in confusion. "Okay, I'm listening."

Oh, god...was she really going to go through with this? The thought of things changing between them once again just terrified her even more. But since she had just thrown it out there, there was no way she could really back out now. Before she could stop herself, she heard a frantic stream of words burst out of her mouth. "So you know how I'm not really the type of person to let others in easily?"

The crinkle in Fitz's eyebrows continued to deepen. "I guess so. You've been fine with me though, except for recently. But those were-"

"Entirely different circumstances, yes," Jemma finished for him as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "But it's still no excuse. I should've been able to open up to you sooner about Will and I shouldn't have pushed you away for so long."

"Jemma, you were dealing with a traumatic experience and you needed your space to come to terms with it. It's completely understandable."

"But I didn't want to deal with it alone!" she exclaimed. "I forced myself to cope anyway and all you wanted to do was help."

Fitz struggled to respond but he couldn't find the words. His silence only made Jemma's babbling worse. "I've devised so many ways of indirectly telling you how much I value you in my life, but none of them seemed to have worked."

Fitz stood up, taking the two steps needed to meet her gaze. " I'm your best friend. We've spent almost every waking moment with each other over the years. I think that says a lot about how we value each other."

"I meant in a different way!" Jemma blurted out, a slight blush creeping into her cheeks as she heard the words spill out. "I mean...as in more than a friend."

Fitz's eyes widened a bit, but he didn't seem too swayed by her confession. Jemma saw the corner of his lip perk up as he crossed his arms in front of him. "I kind of got that from the whole Perthshire talk we had," he replied, his eyes twinkling at the memory. "But the whole thing with Will made things..."

"Complicated."

"Agreed." He chuckled a bit, which caused Jemma to stare at him worriedly. "Bloody hell Jemma, you're finishing my sentences again."

"Sorry," she apologized, letting out a giggle in the midst of her relief. "Old habits are hard to break."

She wanted so desperately to keep teasing him, knowing the mood would lighten up instantly if she did so, but she couldn't keep beating around the bush with this. "And it got me thinking about things. It took me a while to get there, but I finally figured out how to tell you, to show you, exactly what I feel for you."

Fitz shivered, getting a sense that those three little words were finally going to come out of her mouth. In his anticipation, he suddenly couldn't ignore the dryness of his lips and how parched he was. Eyeing the black, plastic water bottle with the old S.H.I.E.L.D. logo printed on it resting on her desk, he swiped it from behind her and took a large sip from it.

"I want...I want to give myself to you, Fitz."

It took every bit of his willpower not to do a spit-take all over her short, black dress covered in a variety of colorful flowers. "Uh- wait, what?" He spluttered once he had composed himself. "I don't know what you mean."

Actually, he knew damn well what she meant. He just couldn't comprehend that she was saying this to him, now, especially while she was wearing the dress that she knew was his favorite on her. Given all of the crap they had experienced over the past year, her suggestion came as quite a shock to him.

"You heard me," she said defiantly, and then she seemed to shrink back into herself. "It's just...I don't know how else to thank you for everything you've done for me."

Fitz froze in place, his mouth gaping in disbelief as his hand tightly knotted itself in his pile of blond curls. "Jemma, you don't owe me anything," he emphasized, his other hand moving to rest tersely on his hip. "I would never force you to do something like that for me, you have to know that. I wouldn't let you. I value you so much more than that, you have to believe me."

Jemma gasped. "Oh, no Fitz, that's not it at all!" She thrust herself forward to grasp his shoulders. "I want to do this. With you." Her voice descended into a murmur. "It's the only way I can show you how much I care about you."

Stupefied, Fitz swallowed thickly as he stared at her in that dress, the thoughts of how incredible she looked tonight taking over his mind. "I-I don't know what to say. I mean... I've, er, thought about the possibility before..."

His face flushed bright red in embarrassment. He couldn't believe he had just openly admitted that to her. However, Jemma's reaction was filled with anything but disgust; in fact, his ears were soon surrounded by her soft, melodious laughter. "Don't be ashamed, Fitz. It's biology. I've thought about it too, you know- before now, I mean."

Fitz's mouth dropped open. "You have?"

She scratched the backside of her ear, suddenly humbled by the spotlight. "Mhm."

"Well in that case..." Fitz shifted his weight from side to side, refusing to make eye contact with the only girl he had ever dreamed of having a future with. "Where do we go from here?"

At least it comforted her that he was just as nervous as she was about this conversation. "I don't know," Jemma sighed. "But let's not force it. I don't want to make you do anything you're not comfortable doing."

A small smile appeared on Fitz's face, and Jemma couldn't help noticing how adorable his shyness and unrelenting respect for her was at that exact moment. "I'll admit, there has been one thing I've wanted to do all night."

"Oh, yeah? And what's that?" She challenged him, giving him a playful grin.

Hesitating at first, he leaned in and captured her lips in a soft kiss. His fingertips danced across her reddened cheek as she reciprocated, pressing more firmly against his delicate touch. As badly as certain parts of him wanted things to progress (and it appeared that she felt the same way), he forced himself to break away, instead choosing to rest his forehead against hers.

"I've been waiting for that since the first one we had," Jemma breathed, suddenly finding herself in a daze.

"While we're admitting things to each other...me too." His lips finally curved into a full smile as he tenderly ran a finger through one of her brown tendrils curled just below her chin. "I uh-" Entirely too conscious of his awkwardness, Fitz took in a long breath and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm not exactly sure...where to go from here..."

It wasn't necessarily that he didn't have the experience to engage in physical affection with Jemma. He had his share of snogging sessions during his days at the Academy. Although more than half of those occurred at parties where he had accidentally lost track of the number of drinks he had and could only vaguely remember the events that transpired the day after, they still counted in his mind.

But being allowed to actually touch Jemma in a way he had only imagined in his dreams...now that was an honor and a privilege he couldn't afford to muck up.

His thoughts were interrupted by slender arms sneaking around his back and the faint scent of strawberry shampoo nuzzling into the crook of his neck. "Don't think about it," Jemma murmured into his skin, trailing a path of light kisses up to his jawline. "Just feel. "

She nibbled on a particularly sensitive patch of skin just below his earlobe, causing him to gasp and pull her closer. A small giggle from Jemma caused a tremor to flow through both of them. "That's better."

"Jemma-" Fitz gulped, briefly losing himself in the overwhelming sensation of her lips on his neck. "You and I know that I- we- both excel in the art of over-thinking."

"True." That didn't stop her from brushing her lips over his stubble. "Because we're scientists."

"Right, and we need to consider every variable, condition-"

"-Control, hypothesis, and method-" Jemma's breath hitched as she pulled away slightly.

"Before we continue."

She watched Fitz bite his lower lip as his use of the old Academy mantra dawned on her. "I know, Fitz. But you know what?"

He gazed at her expectantly, his captivating sapphire-colored eyes almost catching Jemma off-guard. "I don't care. The bloody cosmos can go and bite me. I'm tired of all these obstacles keeping us apart."

Frustration sped through Fitz like an ocean current. He was tired of waiting, tired of not feeling in control of his future, of their future, and although he couldn't dictate what was going to happen in the future...he could certainly fight against the cosmos with Jemma now. Besides the danger their line of work was fraught with and their fears of everything that could go wrong...what could possibly still be keeping them apart?

Nothing.

For the first time, he had something to fight for: he loved her, she loved him (or at least he hoped she did), and they wanted to have a future together. And this time, against all odds, he was determined to win.

His back suddenly straightened and his eyes bore through her with an icy hue of determination as memory upon memory of almost losing her flooded his mind. "Couldn't agree more," he growled, and Jemma had little time to react before his lips crashed against hers.

She let out a groan as his hands clutched the small of her back and pulled her towards him. His tongue grazed her lower lip before deepening the kiss, and she could feel herself turning into putty in his firm embrace. Her fingernails dug into the back of his neck, searching for any way to press her body as fully as possible into his.

"Fitz," she gasped with the little air she was able to suck in between kisses, feeling the heat of desire start to pool between her legs, but as suddenly as the intensity of the moment appeared it was gone, replaced by the light touch of fingertips caressing her back and the ghosts of lips dancing down her neck.

Shuddering every moment his lips touched her skin, she reclined her head a bit to give him more access and he plastered her clavicle with his affection before moving swiftly to meet her plush, pink lips once more. The vibration of his faint moan shot electricity into her bloodstream as his hand became entangled in her hair.

Jemma received his tenderness with the utmost gratitude, stroking the back of his head affectionately as his hands were careful not to stray to areas that were usually considered "off-limits." As much as she appreciated his gentlemanly conduct, it was not what her body so desperately craved at the moment. "You can touch me, you know," she whispered in between kisses.

"What?" Startled, Fitz's eyes moved from her chest to meet her gaze.

She raised her eyebrows, attempting to be flirtatious. "You know, the parts that are still covered up," she clarified, acting as if the answer was obvious. "I give you permission to touch them."

Half of him wanted to laugh at the absurdity of her words while the other half of him wanted to shy away from her amused gaze. "Are you sure?"

Her slender, manicured fingers guided his own to the zipper on the back of her dress. "Would I let you help me unzip this if I wasn't?" she answered with a devious grin.

Fitz looked into her determined eyes and took in a deep breath before motioning for her to turn around. He parted her hair, marveling at the way it flowed effortlessly down her shoulders as he gradually pulled the zipper down, his heartbeat quickening as more of her soft, pale skin was exposed. Spotting some freckles on her back, he made sure to mark those with his lips before turning her around again to let the top part of her dress fall down to her belly button.

"My god, Jemma…" Speechless, his eyes drank in the curve of her stomach as it melded with her hips, and he couldn't stop ogling the black, lacy bra that she had bought on a whim a couple of years back in case a moment like this happened to arise. Jemma observed his staring with a hint of amusement, though the rest of what she was feeling was overshadowed by the suffocating air of vulnerability and humility. He slid his hands down her sides to rest at her waist, and he finally snapped himself out of his daze to gaze at her with all of the fondness he could express. "You're stunning."

Her lip trembled slightly as she blushed, and she practically threw herself in his arms, letting his cologne envelop her as she hastily undid the buttons on his dress shirt while her tongue explored every bit and crevice of Fitz's mouth. "You're not so bad yourself," she murmured softly with a chuckle, and they were soon too caught up in each other to notice Fitz's shirt and Jemma's dress slowly making their way onto the floor, sliding down their arms and legs and landing in heaps near their feet.

Fitz caressed her smooth stomach, the curvature of her vertebrae, and her shoulder blades before he swooped her up in his arms without warning. "Fitz!" Jemma squealed, holding onto him tightly.

His eyes sparkled mischievously. "You said not to think, right?"

Before she could respond, he had deposited her on the bed and gently laid her down. His hand slid across her stomach, eventually grasping her waist as his mouth started to fiddle with her earlobe. She gasped and shivered with anticipation as he made his way down her cheek to her neck, nipping and sucking on the sensitive patches, enjoying the intensity of her mewling.

Jemma had never doubted that Fitz was a genius, quick to learn any new concept or solve any problem he set his eyes on; even his brain injury hadn't affected his desire to master a new skill or technique with the utmost precision and dexterity. Clearly she had neglected to even think about how handy his meticulously-calculated observations would become in the bedroom.

Her heartbeat continued to race as Fitz reached her clavicle once again, re-positioning her bra straps so they hung precipitously off of her shoulders as he pecked his way down her chest. Impatiently fueled by her desire, she shrugged herself out of the loops, biting her lip to block a curse word from leaving her mouth as Fitz's tongue lapped at the top of her breasts. His thumbs massaged her lacy cups, managing to harden the nipples underneath, before his fingers slid to her back to latch onto her clasp.

His hormone-addled brain found its way through the fog as he realized what was going to happen next. With widened eyes, he glanced up at Jemma. "May I?"

She took in a deep breath before nodding, chewing anxiously on her lip as the clasp came undone. "Jemma, if we keep going like this...I might lose control." He couldn't help but stare as the fabric tumbled off of her and her bare breasts entered his sight.

"I trust you." She sat up slightly, her brown eyes meeting his blue ones as she stroked his cheek. "I know you wouldn't hurt me."

The thought of Jemma getting hurt again sent a pang through his heart and he suddenly couldn't shake off the echoes of her screams that had filled his ears not too long ago. "Never," he said, not quite able to control the quiver in his voice.

He was suddenly filled with the insurgent desire to please her, and his mouth latched onto her nipple, gently kneading it with his teeth and tongue as his other hand sneaked around her to play with its pair. A high-pitched whimper escaped her as he played her chest like an instrument, causing notes of various volumes and frequencies to ring through the air as he secured in his memory the spots that made Jemma squirm and whine the loudest.

The fervent heat pulsed through her as her body language urged Fitz to continue on the route that he had started on. He started kissing down the smooth skin of her stomach, continuing to put his nimble fingers and tongue to good use as he did so. He didn't stop as he reached the waistband of her panties, instead providing a wet, stimulating sensation down her mound, causing Jemma to let out an involuntary groan.

As he found himself greatly aroused by her noises and the wetness he felt on his lips, he hooked his fingers underneath the waistband of her underwear and glanced up at her, waiting for her to give him the go-ahead. She couldn't nod her head fast enough as she choked out the word "Please," and she watched as he slowly slid the matching black, lacy panties off her legs and placed them at the foot of the bed.

After a few seconds of tension-filled silence, both of them found themselves in bouts of insecurity. Jemma started to shiver as she realized that she was fully naked for the first time in front of her best friend, while beads of nervous sweat formed on Fitz's forehead as it hit him that he had no idea what the hell to do next. His drunken snogging sessions had definitely rounded second base once upon a time, but never had he gotten this far in his ventures.

He winced internally as a memory he had shut far away in his mind came to light. There had been a time a day or two after finals week during their third year at the Academy where they had decided to "celebrate" the end of examinations in Fitz's room and engaged in a drink or two over their limits. Somehow, he had wondered out loud how females experienced sexual pleasure, and there Jemma was, suddenly shoving a phone with a diagram of the female anatomy on it in his face and explaining all of the intricate little maneuvers and environmental conditions in which a grown woman of reproductive age could build up to an orgasm. Given that she had been more inebriated at the time than him, she didn't recall the incident the next day, but it had been traumatic enough to be seared deep into Fitz's subconscious.

Now that the information was finally becoming useable for him, maybe the whole ordeal was worth the flushed cheeks that had gone along with it.

Trying to recall the long-forgotten details from that night, he forced himself to stop staring so notably at the beautiful woman lying just inches away from his touch and proceeded to nibble and tease at the sensitive skin surrounding her hips down to the insides of her thighs. His stubble and soft breath against her heat tortured her to no end, and Jemma expressed her frustration by tightening her legs around him. "Fitz, please," she begged again as she took in a shuddery breath.

Let go, Fitz thought as Jemma's words from earlier reverberated in his mind. Stop overthinking things. She's not going to judge you for screwing something up.

With that in mind, he took in a deep breath and dove between her legs, anchoring himself there as his tongue ran blindly across her slit, causing Jemma to cry out in surprise. It didn't take her too long to detect his inexperience, and soon she found herself encouraging him gently, as if she was reading out loud to him the manual on How To Please Jemma Simmons. However, being the quick, ambitious learner he was, Fitz had mastered the desired technique within minutes. He alternated from massaging her clit with his tongue, never staying in one spot for too long, to dipping his tongue repeatedly into her heat, savoring the taste of her over and over again. Her short, low moans and gasps transformed into louder, high-pitched screams as she started to lose herself in the overwhelming tide of her rapidly-approaching climax.

"Oh god, Fitz!" she practically shouted as he groaned against her, feeling the weight of his bulge in his pants as the full breadth of lust and desire overtook him. Once he felt her walls constricting against his tongue, he knew she was close. In order to increase her anticipation, he gradually drew away from her, pausing deliberately to watch her, and he couldn't help but think about how incredibly provocative she appeared writhing in want around him. "Christ Jemma, you taste amazing," he growled as he slid two fingers into her, pumping them while his mouth moved back down and played with her sensitive bundle of nerves.

She knotted her fingers in his hair, tugging helplessly at his curls and urging him to go faster. He took his time increasing his carefully-measured pace, and all it took was the sudden curl of his fingers against her walls and increased suction against her clit to signal her release.

With a strangled wail she bucked her hips violently and trembled around him, arching her back and feeling her eyes roll slightly into the back of her head. Her wail trailed off into pants and small whimpers as he cleaned her up and sat back on his heels, shyly wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and transferring her remaining wetness from his fingers to her thigh.

Fitz waited for her to say something, but he was met with silence. "Are you okay?" he asked, slightly concerned by the lack of reaction. He crawled up to lay down beside her, quietly taking in the sight of her red, fiery cheeks and swollen lips.

Keeping her eyes closed, Jemma smiled widely and turned onto her side to face him. "Fitz...that was amazing," she breathed, curling a hand over his. "I told you you could do it."

Fitz chuckled. "I might've been more enthusiastic at first if I had known about the rave reviews I would get," he quipped.

"Oh, shush." Invigorated by his enthusiasm, she rolled over so that she ended up straddling Fitz, giving him a lengthened peck on the lips before she started undoing his belt. Only after she had helped him kick off his pants and had her hands hooked on his boxers did he start to feel self-conscious.

As if she could sense his thoughts, Jemma furrowed her eyebrows and shot him a look. "You can stop me if you want to."

"Oh no, I don't want to stop you. It's just that, um...this is all very n-new, that's all," Fitz stuttered, folding his hands over his chest and struggling to control his breathing.

Her face softened. "I know it is," she agreed, but she couldn't stop the wicked, flirtatious grin from erupting on her face. "But it's my turn to do the giving."

All Fitz could do was stare in awe at the playful twinkle in her eyes and sigh in relief as she pulled down his boxers and hungrily examined his member. She stroked the sides of it with the tip of her fingernail before kissing the head softly.

Bloody fucking hell, Fitz thought as a gasp escaped his lungs, only becoming more forceful as Jemma swirled her tongue around his head a couple of times and then took him in her mouth. Watching her hair fall in front of her face as she sucked on him with a confidence he had only ever witnessed in the lab was probably one of the sexiest things he had ever seen in his life. And there were very, very few of those moments in his life to begin with.

It was his turn to choke out her name as she worked. He figured she had been intimate with a guy or two in the past (he had witnessed the sight of Jemma's and Will's combined bed space, after all) but he had never considered how much she excelled in this area. Why would he? It was barely a year ago that they had just been friends and nothing more.

But he had to be honest with himself...there was definitely no going back after this. And given that this had been Jemma's idea in the first place, he doubted that she wanted to, either. That was the whole point of her speech, right?

It didn't take long at all for him to get incredibly close to cumming, but amidst the feeling of pure and utter bliss, Fitz understood where she ultimately wanted to go with this. He mustered up the courage to caress the top of Jemma's head affectionately, making her look up in surprise with his cock still half-buried in her mouth (causing him to curse internally yet again). "I-I'm really close, Jemma."

"That's good, right?" she stared at him innocently.

"It is, but if you want things to go any further…"

Fitz tried to communicate what he meant with a slight jerk of his head and Jemma immediately understood. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Of course. Sorry, I forgot about that."

He snickered. "Of course you did," he answered, maintaining eye contact as she crawled back up to his chest. His heart swelled as he tucked a strand of hair behind her dainty little ear. "You were incredibly distracting," he murmured into it softly before flipping her over and kissing her eagerly.

She squeaked in delight as she kissed him back, and she couldn't help but feel disappointed as he broke away quickly. "Shite. I...don't have a condom on me. Not that I have ever carried one on me anyway."

Jemma's mouth dropped open in realization. "Oh Fitz…" she whispered as her eyes scanned his facial features. "Is this your first time?"

Clenching the comforter below him in his fists, he tightened his lips and nodded. "It's just that- I didn't think something like this would happen and- or else I would've thought to buy some beforehand-"

He was swiftly cut off by Jemma pressing her lips onto his. "It's okay," she reassured him. "It's mostly my fault anyway, seeing that I sprung this on you without any warning whatsoever."

Fitz let out a sigh of relief and laughed shakily. "Yeah, it was definitely quite a surprise."

"Besides, I'm on birth control so we should be covered."

That seemed to convince him somewhat. "Alright," he said. "But you'll tell me if things changed afterwards, right?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

Jemma scoffed. "Of course I would, Fitz. Just kiss me and I'll guide you through everything."

With her encouragement, Fitz managed to position himself correctly in front of her entrance before he buried himself in her. Simultaneous groans filled the air in the heat of the moment, and they couldn't help but look at each other and giggle at their synchronicity.

Fitz sobered slightly as he gazed down at Jemma, her golden brown eyes and the cute little freckles dotting her cheeks reminding him of how lucky he was to have someone like her in his life. He took in a shaky breath and kissed her cheek sweetly. "I love you," he murmured against her skin, not giving her any time to respond before he started to thrust into her cautiously, as if he was afraid she was going to break if his hips moved any faster.

Jemma closed her eyes, burning into her memory how completely he filled her and how amazing he was making her feel inside. She tangled one hand in his hair and clasped another one around the back of his neck as she wrapped her legs around his waist and held onto him tightly, never wanting to let go. Everything that was happening now, at this very moment, was meant to happen, she was sure of it. No stupid cosmic forces or alien portals or intimidating Hydra goons were keeping them apart now. The melding of their bodies, their energy flowing through one another at a vibrant, rapid pace, it all just felt so...right.

Her breath hitched as Fitz finally starting increasing his pace and she let her whimpers and moans guide him until he finally found the angle that made her limbs turn into jelly. She had only just recovered the consciousness needed to cant her hips against his when she felt a drop of water trickle down the column of her throat. "Fitz?"

Only silence met her words. "Fitz," she repeated, her lips quivering. "Are you okay? Talk to me."

With a sniffle, Fitz removed his head from the crook of her shoulder to reveal the tear tracks running down his face. "It's nothing, Jemma," he muttered.

"It's not nothing, Leo," she retorted, stroking the back of his neck comfortingly. "Am I hurting you? Did I do something wrong?"

He bristled at the sound of his first name. "It's just that…" He took in a deep breath and exhaled forcefully. "I...I almost lost you, Jemma. Many times. There have been countless times since we joined Coulson's team that I thought... I would never see you again."

Trying but failing to do so, he struggled to control the wobbliness of his voice. "And the fact that we're here right now together, in a place that I never thought or even dreamed that we would be…" He was too caught up in his emotions to notice the tears pooling in Jemma's eyes. "I think I'm the luckiest guy in the whole world."

Jemma's face crumpled as she remembered how lost she had felt without him, while she was undercover in Hydra and stuck on Maveth alone before she had found Will. All of the times where she thought that she had failed him, when she thought she lost him to unwise choices or circumstances that were out of her control, suddenly came rushing back to her. She didn't deserve him. She never deserved him. And yet here he was, making love to her in the most intimate, passionate way she could've ever envisioned.

"I almost lost you too all of those times," Jemma managed to croak out, cupping his face in her cheeks. "I honestly don't know what I would do without you. And I'm…" This time, it was her turn to sniffle loudly. "I'm so glad you came back to me."

"But I didn't bring Will back-"

"We talked about this, he was already long gone by the time you got to him! You stopped that Inhuman from coming back through the portal." She traced the stubble along his cheeks, stopping just at the corners of his lips. "You're a hero, Fitz. You've always been in my mind."

He gaped at her wordlessly, choosing to respond by cradling the back of her neck in his hand as he kissed her deeply. "I'll always be there for you," he whispered before kissing her again.

Jemma cried out against his lips as Fitz's hips involuntarily bucked against hers. He groaned as she tightened around his length, and he buried his face once again into the crook of her neck. His breath puffed out against her damp skin as his thrusts became hurried and desperate, the pang of wanting her so badly filling him with longing and desire. She arched her back slightly and he clutched at it, anchoring himself to thrust deeply inside of her, aiming to fill every crevice of her heat with his presence. They melded together effortlessly with each thrust, allowing their bodies and souls to combine in a way that briefly solidified their ability to act as one entity, filling the gaping hole that used to exist between them for far too long.

"I- love- you," Jemma panted, managing to cant against him one last time before the orgasmic wave overtook her. Her cry of ecstasy and the unexpected spasm of her warm, wet walls around his member caused him to explode, and Fitz groaned as his seed was finally released.

They remained there for a bit as they gradually regained control of their senses, absorbing everything that had just happened. "I love you too," Fitz eventually said, grinning widely at the blushing, sweaty woman below him.

Weariness quickly overtook them as Fitz pulled out of her. He guided Jemma to the top of the bed and both of them took their time sliding under the covers as their vision became cloudy. As he wrapped an arm around her bare chest, she sank into his warmth with a smile.

"I accept your proposal, by the way."

The vibration of his words tickled against her ear, making Jemma sigh contentedly. "You most certainly have."

Sleep came easily for them that night for the first time in months and they both experienced a restful slumber, free of the stress and despair that had surrounded them since Jemma had been taken by the monolith. However, that did not stop the glaring lights of the base's hallways from reaching Fitz's eyes through the lowered shades.

He groaned softly as he rubbed the sand out of his eyes, his chest suddenly tightening as the full impact of what they had done last night hit him. He felt a mixture of warm fuzziness and a pang of fear churn in his stomach as he stared at the supple skin of Jemma's back, which seemed to practically sparkle in the beam of light. What if she woke up and thought this had all been a mistake? What if she panicked and started to avoid him in the weeks to come? All the worst-case scenarios flooded his mind at once and he forced himself to steady his breathing so that his close-to-hyperventilation fit wouldn't wake her up.

She stirred slightly in her sleep, eventually opening her eyes to find herself staring at her bedroom walls. Yawning, she stretched her limbs and rolled onto her other side to see Fitz laying as still as he could. "Morning, Fitz," she mumbled sleepily.

"Morning," he replied, not daring to move a muscle.

He soon found that he had no reason to worry as Jemma captured his arm in an embrace and nuzzled her chin into Fitz's shoulder. "I'm ready to give some more to you now."

His facial expression brightened and he smiled widely, turning to kiss her temple and caress her arm with his fingertips. "So am I."

And soon they were entangled around each other, relishing in this new aspect of their relationship as they explored each others' bodies once more.

This time, Jemma was glad that she had gathered the courage to express her feelings to Fitz because it had paid off in more ways than she could count.

Well, this will probably be the last time I write that explicitly for a while since it took me HOURS of blushing, giggling, and cursing at my computer to get this thing done. Thanks amandajbruce and memorizingthedigitsofpi for editing the crap out of this story for me! I really appreciate it.

Anyway, now that this is out of the way, I can finally start concentrating on my one remaining story :)