Fitz watched with his heart in his throat as Jemma slowly slid off of his lap and stood up. His lip trembled with uncertainty, and he tried to think of something he could say, something he could do, to bring her back.

"Jem-" he started, not sure what to say next, but she hushed him with two fingers on his lips before leaning down to kiss him.

"But-" he started again. Kissing him was a good sign, but she still wasn't saying anything. Had he gone too far again? Pushed her away?

Jemma didn't trust her voice, so she decided to trust to action instead. Reaching down to her hips, she pushed her panties down and off. They stuck wetly between her thighs for a moment before sliding down her legs and pooling at her feet. She caught his eyes and they took her breath away again. He was so scared, so worried about her, about them, about what this might mean. She felt all of her emotions welling up inside her chest, filling it, expanding it, burning in a roiling mass of unspoken words and unmade gestures.

He'd been half-thinking of apologizing, neutralizing it, taking that 'I love you' and making it... less? Somehow? Less real. Less honest. But above all, less pressure on Jemma to feel the same way. But then she'd looked at him, really looked at him, and he wanted to make it more.

"I love you," he whispered again as he cupped her cheek in his hand. She leaned into it, and the smile that broke across her face was like the dawn, lighting up the room and clearing away the dark spaces. "I love you so much," he said again, and now that he'd started saying it he might never say anything else ever again.

And then she was kissing him.

It wasn't shy and sweet this time, and it wasn't full of passion. It was soft and slow and taking her time. She was memorizing him with her mouth, learning with every gasp of breath, every stroke of tongue, every movement of lips. She knelt back up on the bed again, sliding back into his lap, but this time there was nothing between them. Breaking their kiss just long enough to reach over to her bedside table, she found a condom and met his eyes again.

Fitz nodded, watching as she carefully opened the package and then dropping his head against her shoulder as she rolled it on him.

"God, I love you," he whispered, kissing her shoulder, her neck, her jaw. He sucked in a breath as she lifted up and then settled onto him, burying him inside of her.

Jemma gasped at the feel of him, the dull, aching sweetness that filled up and patched over the rips and tears in her heart. She moved on him slowly, squeezing him inside her, and every movement brought her some peace.

He nuzzled into her hair and whispered it in her ear. "I love you, Jemma," his breath was coming faster now and his hands slid down to her hips to pull her tighter and harder against him. His lips sought out hers, and when he could no longer speak he kissed it to her instead.

She held onto him tight, their bodies moving in time and their kisses at once languid and increasingly hurried. She could feel herself cresting the wave one more time, and this time she wanted to take him with her. Holding him close, she kissed his forehead, his cheeks, his eyes, and his jaw, and then she moved her lips over to his ear and whispered, so softly she feared he might not hear and yet more loudly than she'd ever dared say it before.

"Fitz, I- I love you."

She let out a moan that was half-sob as the words left her, wrenching their way out of her soul, and she clutched him tight, afraid that he might disappear. But he stayed there, warm and solid and Fitz, and she was still whole. She had always half-feared that falling in love would mean giving something up, being less than herself if she wasn't with him, not knowing - not knowing, who she was without someone else.

But she wasn't losing herself with Fitz. She was finding herself.

He didn't make her less. He made her more.

It felt like getting her first PhD. Like getting into the Academy. Like becoming a field agent.

It was wonderful and scary and exciting and terrifying and her mind soared into the clouds while her stomach dropped down into her feet and she could barely catch her breath, it was all so perfect.

She kissed him again, and he kissed her back, and every flick of her tongue was an 'I love you,' every time he nibbled her lip was 'I love you, too.'

Fitz leaned back to lie on the bed, and he stared up at her awestruck as she rode him. She was the most beautiful thing in the universe, and she loved him. She loved him. She loved him. Her head tilted back and she loved him. Her breasts bounced on her chest and she loved him. Her hips ground down hard on his and she loved him. Her hands tangled in his and she loved him.

He reached up cup her breasts, squeezing them and pulling her nipples. Then, he trailed one hand down her stomach to where they were joined and started to rub her clit. Her hips moved faster on him, rocking in circles and taking him deeper into her. And then she was saying his name, and it was like she was saying 'I love you' all over again. His stomach tightened and his hips pushed up and then he was emptying himself inside her.

"Jemma," he groaned, just as she moaned, "Fitz," and then she was panting and sweaty and laying on top of him, and he was holding her in his arms.

She caught her breath for a moment as she rested her head on his chest. His heart was hammering a mile a minute, and his arms were trembling around her. Her smile was so wide it hurt her face.

Kissing his chest once, she tilted her head to look up at him and he smiled down at her.

"I do, you know," she said.

"I know."

Jemma was still smiling later when she was grabbing them a snack from the kitchen.

"Simmons," May nodded at her in greeting, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Agent May," she responded, taking a breath and trying to tone down her grin to somewhat normal levels.

"I got your messages," May continued. "But you didn't answer when I called?" She raised an eyebrow and waited patiently for an explanation.

"Oh!" Jemma startled, suddenly remembering how she and Fitz had... happened. "Yes, well..." she floundered briefly, not entirely sure how to explain what had happened without actually explaining what happened. "You see," she started awkwardly.

May's expression softened slightly and she patted Jemma's arm in understanding. "You got it all figured out?" she asked vaguely.

Jemma's face immediately relaxed in relief. "Yes," she sighed gratefully. "Although I would like to arrange for a field medical sometime this week, if I could?"

May's brow creased slightly in concern. "Everything alright?" she asked.

Jemma nodded, reassuring her with a smile. "Fine," she said. "I'd just like Dr. Kumari to confirm my findings, that's all."

May nodded. "I'll see how soon we can get the doctor out here," she said. She grabbed an apple and wandered toward the exit. "Oh, and Simmons?" she said, turning around with a half-smile on her face and a knowing look in her eye. "Nice shirt."

Jemma blushed but refused to look down at Fitz's button-up. "Thank you," she said primly. And then the smile blossomed across her face again. "I'm rather fond of it."