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…many reporters at the time would speculate on the nature of the relationship between WWII hero Peggy Carter and actress Angie Martinelli; some proclaimed them lovers while others tried to set a rivalry between the two women. It wasn’t until Martinelli brought Carter as her date to the premiere of ‘The Apartment on 21st Street’ that confirmation they were dating came out.
“I was in love with her as soon as I saw her, who wouldn’t be with English? Just that it took forever for her to notice, I must have gone through a room full of schnapps while waiting for her to catch on, but that’s my English, oblivious to the last.” – Angie Martinelli, 1947
If Skye could pick one person in all of history that she related to most it would be Angie Martinelli; and it wasn’t just because as a kid she’d curled her hair to look like Angie’s or seen her movies a few thousand times.
It was mostly because she felt like if anyone could understand what being in love with a clever English woman who was going to make history and completely oblivious to the brunette sitting next to her it would be Angie.
She tried not to sigh when she looked down at her history book and the picture of Peggy and Angie that took up half the page, tagged with the quote she had just been rereading for the past ten minutes instead of the actual chapter her class had been assigned to read.
“Skye.” A voice hissed next to her and she looked over at Jemma just in time to catch the other woman mouthing ‘wrong chapter’ and pointing to the one they were actually supposed to be reading.
Skye flashed a grin back and tapped the picture, whispering back, “I bet they did it right after this was taken.”
Wiggling her eyebrows she got back Jemma’s patented eye roll and a huff, turning away from Skye to focus on reading again.
It gave Skye time to rest her chin on her hand, elbow on the desk and take in Jemma next to her from the corner of her eye while pretending to read.
Jemma’s hair had just been cut, something Skye had mourned the day Jemma walked in with it just above he shoulders, dramatic threading her fingers through Jemma’s hair. That mourning quickly turning to amusement when she found it to be wavier when shorter and delight as Jemma calmly let Skye keep up petting her hair.
Now it kept getting in Jemma’s way however, an errant strand escaping the confines and just as quickly tucked back behind her ear.
If they were dating then Skye could easily reach other and tuck it back for her, offer Jemma a smile when she looked her way and her fingers would fiddle with the ends of the hair playfully before trailing downwards, a clear path on what would come next.
In the here and now however Jemma was giving her a strange look for her staring.
“Can anyone tell me what Miss Carter did in 1948 that changed the tides of feminism movement.” Their teacher’s voice broke through the quiet of the class.
Sure enough Jemma’s hand shot up, quick recitation on tongue, “Miss Carter became head of the SSR sir, she and Miss Martinelli created the Foundation For Women and many women were hired beyond secretarial positions…”
Skye wondered if Jemma knew when she was talking about Peggy Carter she got that bright spark in her eyes and became just the slightest bit breathless; a clear case of hero worship if there ever was one. It was adorable and one time Skye had Snapchatted it to Trip with heart emoji’s.
Not that he could prove it luckily enough.
Absent mindedly she flipped the page of the book in front of her as Jemma continued on with far more detail than asked for.
“Let me tell you, getting Pegs to catch on was the hardest. Third time we met I offered her a cup of sugar, and this was after all the invites for coffee mind you, put my best smile on and everything. English thought I was baking a pie. It was near impossible but I wasn’t about to ever give up on her.” – Angie Martinelli, 1953
Skye smiled to herself as she glanced over the quote, neatly summing up how she felt about Jemma but unlike Angie she had no idea how to continue on with this crush, all ideas before had failed badly.
As Jemma’s explanation wrapped up she caught Skye’s eyes and beamed, giddy at the fact that she had explained her peace and it was probably just a trick of the lights that made it look like there was a halo but Jemma Simmons had never looked more perfect in Skye’s eyes.
Besides, near impossibilities were Skye’s favourite.
She was already playing the Mission Impossible theme in her head.
~~
When Skye had first met Jemma they were ten and she’d just moved to town with her foster family and had eagerly torn out the door to explore her new neighbourhood.
Of course Skye being Skye had quickly gotten herself in to trouble, climbing up a tree and slipping, leaving her crying on the ground with a gash on her leg.
As luck would have it, Jemma heard her crying and had quickly brought her to her house to help Skye get patched up.
“You’re lucky this is looks like a laceration and isn’t very deep.” Jemma has told her, nodding her head in pure conviction while Skye had no idea what she was talking about.
Jemma’s father who was a doctor was examining her cut while Jemma’s mother went to get Skye’s parents.
“A lace-what?”
“Laceration. It means tear in your flesh. Oh, dear, that will sting.” Jemma winced in sympathy as her dad brought out the hydrogen peroxide. She turned back to Skye and smiled. “Would you like me to hold your hand?”
Skye had nodded dumbly at the time and held back the tears as her wound was cleaned, grateful Jemma had merely tightened her grip and distracted Skye by talking all about how Jemma had read about wounds in her father’s books and the different treatments of such.
It was the grossest conversation she’d ever had.
It was also probably when Skye had fallen in love, holding onto Jemma’s hands and watching her talk about things Skye couldn’t understand, with her blue headband keeping her hair back and her amber eyes locked on Skye’s.
“…someday I’d like to win a Nobel Peace Prize.” Jemma sighed with a dreamy look in her eye. “Just like Peggy Carter.”
That was also when Skye realized that Angie Martinelli was her true patronus.
~~
“I think I need to audition for a play.” Skye told Trip, swirling her yogurt around in its container with no real purpose.
“A play.” Trip echoed, raising an eyebrow at Skye.
Around them the cafeteria was bustling, next to Trip sat Mike who glanced their way at Skye’s declaration and looked just as confused as Trip. Towards the end of their table Jemma was arguing with Fitz about their science project, Mack was trying to calm his boyfriend down but doing a bad job because he just kept laughing at Fitz’s arm pinwheeling as he tried to explain exactly why a monkey would make the project better.
“A play.” Skye repeated with more conviction. “Because that way I can use it as an excuse to kiss Jemma. Just like Angie did with Peggy.”
“I thought the story was Angie just kissed her and Peggy thought it was because of a play.”
“Semantics.” Skye waved her spoon in the air and made a face when yogurt dripped on her homework. “Just you wait. This will work out for me.”
“That’s what you said about the love letter.”
Skye winced. “It’s not my fault you decided to change lockers with her that day.”
“Still hurt it wasn’t for me.” Trip teased with a smile. “What’s wrong with my ‘tresses of hair.’”
“Shut up.” Skye groaned, regretting that she had written that right after an English class. It was probably for the better Jemma had never gotten it. “Look, this is going to be way better than that.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
“Thanks.” Skye lent back in her chair, all smug confidence. “I will.”
~~
When Skye had first started realizing she had feelings for Jemma she had talked to her dad, leading to the most awkward birds and bees talk until Skye patted him on the hand and told him she’d find answers on the internet.
She’s amazed Coulson let her.
At fourteen she finally brought up the initial idea around Jemma, treading the waters so to speak.
“I think I like girls.” Okay so Skye was more a jump in the lake kind of girl anyway.
“Oh?” Jemma raised her eyebrow, looking up from the microscope she kept in her room and whatever microbe she was experimenting on that day.
“Well. And boys.” Skye shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant as a fourteen year old questioning her sexuality could and like her heart didn’t feel halfway in her throat, hammering loudly.
Jemma hummed, crossing the room to fall onto the bed next to Skye.
“I think I do too.” She said after a good five minutes of silent, raising her head to look Skye in the eyes.
“Let me guess, you’ve got a crush on Peggy Carter.” It was good that her sarcasm could take over while she mentally felt like she’d clocked out in the sudden relief at hearing that Jemma might like girls too. It was a step forward of a sort to Skye.
It meant there was a chance she wasn’t going to be pinning after Jemma forever.
“Peggy, amongst…other people.” Jemma’s face was red as she leaned into Skye’s space, voice dropping to a whisper even though they were the only ones in the room. “I think I like Bobbi.”
Bobbi Morse was their neighbour next to Mack who was two years older than them.
“Oh.” Skye swallowed, trying not to cry. “That’s…that’s great.”
Jemma smiled so happily then, suddenly crashing forward into Skye in a hug.
“I’m so glad I can tell you, I hated not doing that. I was just worried.” Jemma told her as she pulled away.
“You can tell me anything.” Skye said, honestly.
“What about you Skye, anyone you like?” Amber eyes looked at her, wide and curious.
“Nope.” The lie didn’t sit well with her.
She wondered if Angie had ever lied to Peggy like that.
~~
The next audition for the school play wasn’t for another month, so Skye grudgingly put that idea on the back burner to try another.
“Hey Fitz, old buddy old pal.” She sidled up to him in the hallway, throwing an arm over his shoulder.
“Why are you smiling like that? You look like a deranged killer.”
“What? No I don’t, that’s just my face, you know what -not important, moving on. I need your help.”
Everyone needed to stop that raising eyebrow trend around her; it was starting to seem like a conspiracy.
If there was one thing Skye wanted to get to the bottom of, it was a conspiracy. One time a book in her room had gone missing and she’d done a full on pin up board to get to the truth of where it was. Never mind that she had just knocked it over behind the desk, it could have been something.
Like aliens.
“You’ve got your alien face on again.” Fitz commented drily.
Skye let out an exasperated noise, refraining from throwing her hands up. “That’s still just my face! And still not the point. Don’t change the subject.”
“We didn’t even have a subject!” Fitz protested.
“Okay, well, it’s like this: how do I get Jemma to notice me.”
Fitz stopped in the hallway, making Skye stop with him and stared at her.
“What?” She asked. “Don’t tell me this is about my face again.”
The sudden laughter was unexpected and Skye pulled away, frowning and crossing her arms.
“You’re kidding.” Fitz was lucky that accent of his was cute because anyone else making comments about her face and then laughing might have gotten kneed in the balls. “Skye you must be kidding.”
“Kidding about what?”
“You! And…and Jemma! And noticing you!”
Her frown deepened. “Hey I think I’m noticeable!”
Fitz let out a strangled noise that sounded like the cross between someone letting the air out of the tires and a dying dolphin.
“Just…Skye there isn’t really anything you can do at this point.” His hand fell on her shoulder. “Jemma notices you just fine, you’re her…”
“Not best friend, that’s your role.” Skye quipped, in truth not sure of her relation with Jemma. Second best friend probably. First place second best friend. Still wasn’t as nice a sounding as ‘girlfriend’.
“You’re her Skye.” He finished, somewhat lamely.
“Thanks.” She deadpanned. “Just what I wanted to be, me. No wait- that came out wrong.”
Fitz was shaking his head and already walking off.
“Fitz! You still haven’t helped! That was the opposite of helpful!” Skye called out to him but he didn’t respond.
~~
Last year Skye had gotten in to a car accident and spent a week in a coma.
According to Coulson Jemma hadn’t left her side and constantly demanded to see her chart to any doctor that walked in the room.
When she had woken up the first thing she saw was light brown hair as Jemma clung to her crying and making Skye promise she would never do anything like that again.
Every time the doctor had come to talk to her Jemma had been there, holding her hand.
If Skye wasn’t already in love she might have fallen in love then.
“I love you.” She murmured to Jemma once the doctor had left the room.
Jemma had smiled at her with wet eyes. “I’ll always be here Skye.”
If the drugs hadn’t been pulling her back under to sleep she might have tried to explain herself better.
Somehow she didn’t think it would have helped anyway.
~~
“Dare I ask why you’re holed away in here?” Light spilled into Skye’s van as Jemma opened the door. Since the accident her van had been on bricks and Skye had instead converted it to her own personal place to hide in.
Skye shrugged. “Just watching things.”
Her laptop was playing ‘Miss Union Jack’, Skye’s favourite Angie Martinelli movie. In part because this was the movie right after she’d come out with Peggy and the two of them stared in together as lovers during the war.
“Seems to me like you’re sulking.” Jemma climbed into van, shutting the door behind her so only the glow of the laptop lit the place up.
She arranged herself on the many blankets and pillows Skye had piled into the back, shirt catching on one of the pins on a board Skye had put up on various alien theories, shooting Skye a fond look, if exasperated.
“So what’s going on?” Jemma folded her hands on her lap, without the distraction of school or science her direct attention was on Skye.
“Nothing.” Skye shrugged, tilting the chip bag towards Jemma in silent offering.
“Skye you’re in your van and watching ‘Miss Union Jack’ alone. You only ever do that when upset and I know that because you didn’t come get me to watch it with you.”
The worst part about Jemma was that she noticed everything except Skye’s undying love.
She’d only holed herself up because of Fitz’s comment that Jemma wouldn’t notice and it was a temporary setback that needed some Angie boosting.
Which gave her an idea.
Skye sat up, crossing her legs in front of her and took a deep breath.
“So, say…say that you were Peggy Carter.”
That certainly perked Jemma up, Skye bit her lip and quickly averted her gaze from Jemma’s chest which had become more noticeable when she straightened where she was seated.
“All right, I’m with you.” There was no way she was imagining Jemma’s accent somehow getting more noticeable when she said that.
“Of course you are.” Skye snickered, shaking her head. “Okay. So. You’re Peggy. And say…say I was Angie.”
Jemma raised an eyebrow.
“And say I’d spent years in love with you, and did a lot to try to get you to notice but also backed off when you showed interest in other people.”
She’d adverted her gaze away from Jemma to the screen where Angie was acting out the nurse healing Peggy’s wounds in the movie.
“Skye…”
“And say,” Skye continued on before she could break her resolve. “I even said I love you once before and got brushed off and had future plans but this seemed like the perfect opportunity.”
“I didn’t- you meant it?” The desperation in Jemma’s voice had her looking up.
It was hard to see Jemma in the light of the laptop screen from the van but Skye had already memorized every inch of her friend pretty much, she knew that by the slight tilt on the corner of her lips that Jemma’s mouth was open just the tiniest bit in surprise and that in sunlight she’d be able to see the sudden flush on Jemma’s face when presented with something unknown, whether it was in excitement or mere shock she didn’t know.
“Of course I meant it.” Skye watched carefully, taking in the small gasp, “You’re my Peggy. I just want to be your Angie.”
It was all out there now, ball in Jemma’s court and Skye knew that no matter what she chose she’d always be Jemma’s friend but in the silence that drew on she couldn’t help but hope it’d be more.
Of course Jemma leaned over to kiss her at the exact same time Peggy’s character kissed Angie’s on the screen.
“Honestly Skye, I’ve been in love with you for the past year and half at least now.” Jemma shook her head, resting her forehead against Skye’s when she pulled back. “I just wasn’t sure you felt the same.”
“Well now I know you love me.” Skye grinned, not caring how goofy it looked. “You didn’t even look once at Peggy on screen.”
“Pure devotion.” Jemma teased back. “Though I have to say this was very cliché Skye.”
“Your cliché. No. Wait.” Skye kissed her again when Jemma raised an eyebrow at her failed insult. If only because if Jemma could put away her Peggy obsession for kissing then Skye could put away her conspiracy theories.
She wondered if this was how Angie felt.
“Kissing English is the best thing in the world you know, ‘cause it’s like I’m kissing my world and everything just becomes about the two of us. I’d do it forever if I ever got my way.” – Angie Martinelli, 1964; overheard vows during civil union to Peggy Carter.