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The first time Hunter saw Bobbi’s smile, it took his breath away. She was absolutely gorgeous when she wasn’t smiling, but her smile turned her into a goddess. It was one of the first things about her that he fell in love with.
From the moment they started dating, he began doing things to make her smile. Things like corny jokes, and putting on an atrocious American accent, or a ridiculously posh English one. When he learned she loved Star Wars, he used a Yoda voice or made Chewbacca noises.
He learned that she smiled more widely when he bought yellow tulips than when he bought red roses, and when he made her breakfast in bed after she returned from missions, even though he always—inevitably, no matter what he did—burned the toast. He learned that no matter how much she initially sighed or rolled her eyes when he insisted they take selfies, she always smiled for them.
She always smiled and joined in when he teased Mack about his various partners, especially the health-food obsessed partner he pretended to like quinoa for. Bobbi was very opinionated about her likes and dislikes when it came to food, and she refused to change her eating habits and preferences for anyone. Though, she did end up changing her opinion on mushrooms from ‘meh’ to ‘they’re all right’ after Hunter made her his famous mushroom soup for the first time.
Bobbi enjoyed making Hunter smile too. It was ridiculously easy; all she had to do was smile at him first. He smiled affectionately when she stole the blankets in the middle of the night (after a bit of grumbling and pouting — “It’s bloody cold, woman!”). He always gave a beaming smile whenever she supported Liverpool, or England during the World Cup, and the first time she’d used ‘football’ instead of ‘soccer’ without him correcting her first, his face had lit up with a look of such pure joy and adoration that she felt a little guilty for all the times she’d purposely said soccer just to mess with him.
When Jemma joined their relationship, they both started trying to figure out what made her smile. Hunter learned that his ridiculous accents and voices only made her roll her eyes, but that she did have a soft spot for his corny jokes. He learned that her favorite flower was the primrose and that it reminded her of her childhood in England. They both smiled a lot when they reminisced about England together. Even though she grew up in Sheffield, and he’d grown up in London, there were certain things they both just got that Bobbi, and later Fitz, never did.
Bobbi learned that one sure-fire way to get Jemma to smile (besides smiling first, which worked just as well on Jemma as it did on Hunter) was to ask her questions about her special interests and let her info-dump as much as she wanted. Bobbi now knew way more than she had ever wanted about fish, spiders, and venomous snakes, not to mention space and constellations, but she had to admit that the knowledge occasionally came in handy on SHIELD missions.
Bobbi also learned that Jemma liked deep pressure, and touch in general, and she always smiled when they held hands, or when Bobbi played with her hair.
Jemma worked very hard at learning what made Bobbi and Hunter smile. She’d been taught at a very young age that smiling meant happy, and that happy meant good, and good was, well, good. There were other nuances to smiling, of course, and facial expressions in general, that didn’t come naturally to Jemma because of her autism, but Bobbi and Hunter never appeared annoyed or bothered if she asked them to explain what their facial expression meant, and that made Jemma smile too.
Jemma wasn’t that great of a cook, and often ended up swearing angrily at the disaster she usually created (Hunter always thought it hilarious whenever she dropped her uptight people-pleaser persona and really let loose with a variety of British and American curse words.) but she could do a decent enough curry that Hunter always raved about.
Jemma found that she preferred quiet moments with Bobbi. She loved the times when Bobbi took interest in Jemma’s interests and gave her a chance to talk her ear off about fish or the stars, but she also loved just sitting with Bobbi. They didn’t need to talk to enjoy each other. She loved when they sat together, each reading a book, and when they worked out together in the gym. Sometimes Hunter would tag along when they worked out and make loud, embarrassing comments about how hot his girlfriends were. Jemma pretended she hated when he did that, but secretly she loved it. She knew she would never be anywhere as attractive as Bobbi, so hearing Hunter appreciate her alongside their partner made her feel special.
Fitz was the fourth to join their relationship, and at first Bobbi and Hunter struggled with the addition. Fitz and Simmons had an incredibly close bond, and it was difficult for Bobbi and Hunter to join in.
Then there was the fact that Fitz rarely smiled. Fitz opened up early in the relationship that he was autistic, same as Jemma, and that he’d never really liked smiling because it was a negative facial expression in the monkey world. Fitz showed happiness in other ways, like flapping his hands or other excited stimming, and his partners accepted that.
Fitz was the one who discovered that Hunter had never actually seen any of Doctor Who. He was properly horrified and immediately told Simmons, who was equally astonished. The next time they all had a day off together, Fitz and Simmons introduced Bobbi and Hunter to the world of Doctor Who with an all-day marathon, starting with episodes of their favorite Doctors from the older series and then going into the newer series. When they were all finally going to bed after, Jemma asked which Doctor they had preferred. She was quite pleased to hear that Hunter chose her favorite, the Fourth Doctor, while Fitz gave a genuine smile when Bobbi chose his favorite, the Third Doctor.
Their quad had its ups and downs, and their relationships with each other fluctuated as time went on, but even when life was hard, they were always able to make each other smile.