Jemma had loved Daisy Johnson since they met. It was so clear Daisy didn't have anyone and it was just as clear to Jemma as it had been to Agent Coulson that their little group would be a perfect fit. She hadn't had a specific name for her feelings at that point, but they were definitely intense. She had known immediately she wanted to be sure the younger woman would be okay. It didn't take very long for those feelings to turn into love of some variety. It took a lot more time for Jemma to realize her feelings were of the romantic variety.
Skye, as she was known then, was too overwhelmed the first few months with them to really notice anything else. Jemma stood out though. The fast-talking doctor seemed completely at home in her lab... even if it were a flying one. Somehow Jemma managed to make The Bus feel like a home for Skye. From then on, no matter how they grew or changed (names included) Skye/Daisy's home was where Dr. Jemma Simmons was.
Everything didn't necessarily come easily to them, though. At each turn, some new enemy or crisis came up. Skye's very heart itself seemed to take a beating. Jemma went through her share of tribulations as well. They were the hardest years of Skye's life, even after all she had been through before coming to SHIELD. The ragtag group slowly changed from a handful of individuals to a team and then to a family. Skye learned she could rely on these people, a gift she had never experienced before. It was everything that she hadn't known she needed.
Jemma felt honored to be able to watch Skye grow. She didn't believe she had ever met anyone as strong. Jemma was pretty sure she had never been as concerned for someone as she was for Skye either. She watched from behind the scenes or in her lab as Skye become Daisy and Daisy become Quake. Jemma had never been quite so proud.
"Jemma, what are you thinking so hard about? I can hear the gears in your brain cranking from here." Daisy chuckled from her side of the bed.
Jemma turned onto her side to meet Daisy's eyes with a soft smile, a hint of laughter in her eyes. "I've just been thinking about how much you've grown since we first met. I'm proud of you Daisy." Her voice was sincere and her tone low; the same voice that always meant Jemma was delivering a serious proclamation.
"I'm proud of you too, Jemma. You went from impressive to astonishing in the blink of an eye. What brought all of this on?" Daisy asked with a curious look. About half of Jemma's face was covered by the pillow, but she had a gentle look in her eyes that Daisy didn't recognize.
"I just woke up thinking. We were totally different people five years ago. Isn't it interesting though, that the person that I was then, was also in love with the person that you were then. I like to think that our love... in whatever form it took, grew right along with us. We are parallel to ourselves in a way."
Daisy had to chuckle. Jemma's mind never failed to amaze her, and she always learned something new. She hadn't seen this romantic side to Simmons before. The constant surprises were one of Daisy's favorite aspects of their relationship.
"You're going to bend your glasses laying on them like that." Daisy scolds equally softly, reaching forward to remove them on Jemma's behalf. "I would say the two of us have been refined by fire. It hurt like hell while it was happening and I'll be the first to admit I was scared shitless the vast majority of the time, but we came out the better for it. I like who we have become, Jemma. I wouldn't change a thing."
"Me either. Even all our scars are precious to me now." Jemma ran the tips of her fingers along the raised skin behind Daisy's ear where the Kree ability inhibitor had been. "They remind me of all of the things I have to be grateful for. We've survived so much and should never take anything for granted.."
"Well, I know for a fact I would have a ton more scars if not for you." Daisy laughed. "I do tend to get injured a lot... kind of an occupational hazard. Being placed into your expert care makes it a lot easier to deal with, though."
"I don't care how good my care is, it would be much better if you didn't go around getting yourself seriously injured. Spending time with you just isn't the same when I'm trying to save your life." Jemma's lips quirked up, but she didn't seem to find it half as amusing as Daisy did.
"You know what I meant." Daisy scolded. "I don't nearly die on a regular basis because it's fun for me you know. The majority of the time I just want to keep everyone around me as safe as possible. Yo-Yo and I have talked about how being the powered people on the team makes us feel a little more responsible for the rest of you. Power and responsibility, right?"
"You were that way even before Terrigenesis, Daisy. Since I've known you, you've put the rest of the team before yourself. It was one of the things I first loved about you. You were strong and beautiful as all hell long before your abilities.
"You are always telling me things like that, but I don't think you've ever realized how much it means to me." Daisy's cheeks were pink and her smile crooked. "Still, Jemma, you're cheesy as all hell. Especially for being a Brit."
"You and your British stereotypes." Jemma scoffed. "I need to drag you home and show you the real Jolly ol' England."
"Everything I know, I've learned from you, Fitz, and Hunter. You only have yourselves to blame." Daisy jibed back playfully.
"You are very lucky I love you so much, young lady." Jemma chuckled. "Please take everything Lance Hunter has ever said about my homeland with a bucket-full of salt.... Actually, everything you have ever heard him say in his entire life. All of it."
Daisy couldn't help but laugh. Making fun of Hunter was one of the team's very favorite pastimes. She pushed up onto her forearms and turned to look at Jemma full in the face. Daisy gently finger-combed a few stray hairs out of Jemma's face as she studied the other girl's eyes. She didn't want to even think about how her own hair looked.
It was nearly eleven a.m. but neither of the women had made any moves to get out of bed. They never got to have any kind of time off so they had to take full advantage while they could. It was ten degrees below outdoors and the bed was perfectly soft and warm. Daisy was more than content just to be where Jemma was. This was perfection. The smaller woman pushed up to meet Jemma's eyes with a happy little grin.
"You're right. I might just be the luckiest woman on this planet or any other. Somehow you fell in love with me and I you and everything became so much more wonderful and terrifying. I have these Inhuman abilities to help me keep you safe. I don't think I could be more lucky." Daisy leaned forward and pressed in to kiss Jemma softly. "Every morning that I get up and find your glasses for you I remember just how lucky I am."
"My glasses?" Jemma asked with a surprised look, not quite understanding what Daisy meant.
"Yeah, the first few times I stayed over, I got really tickled watching you trying to find them. Then, it kind of became my duty to help and hand them to you. I really value that part of my morning." Daisy's smile was nostalgic and betrayed so much feeling Jemma couldn't help but tear up a little."
"I love you too, you idiot."
