May’s daily routine always had consisted of getting up early, go do Tai-Chi, drink her tea, training sessions with Skye, go freshen up and get down to working with the team and planning the next opp. with Coulson. This had been her schedule ever since they had started rebuilding SHIELD, no changes. Melinda May didn’t like changing her schedule much, she wasn’t really fond of that, so when this morning she realised that by the time she had woken up, it was half past nine, she felt like something was definitely wrong.
It wasn’t like her to sleep in this late, as a matter of fact, she was someone who got less sleep than normal because of nightmares that had occupied her mind. She got up fast, to freshen up and join the team, she was angry at Skye for not waking her up, but then May not waking up early meant a skipped day of training, who would let go of that, if May had still been the Academy Days Melinda, maybe she’d done the same.
Just as she was about to get ready for Tai-Chi, a pain rushed through her arm and she remembered. She had been badly injured yesterday. The team had to face off, Whitehall and Skye’s dad and the confrontation led to a huge fight, in which she had ended up badly injured. So it was because of the medicines, that she had slept in, and because of that the team decided not to wake her up or to let her do her usual morning routine. Her arm still pained badly, so she had to let go of Tai-Chi for today. Dressing up casually, she exited her bunk and decided to go check on Coulson.
Walking towards Coulson’s office, she was halted when she started hearing whispering, giggling and chatting from the main lounge, so she decided to check on that first.
As soon as her footsteps were loud enough to be heard, the whole room went silent. As she entered, the team was sitting there on the floor, some boxes kept between them, and they were all sitting in pin drop silence staring at May. She felt as if she was being interrogated by these bunch of kids.
“Ok what’s it ?” May asked directly getting to point.
“What ? What ? .. umm .. nothing May .. nothing” Fitz answered, clearly nervous, that made her even more suspicious.
“You guys were chatting before I came in and soon as you realised it was me, you all fell silent” May replied with her hands folded across her chest and a strict expression on her face.
“Oh nothing huge May, we were just talking and we didn’t want to disturb you, since you were sleeping, that’s why the hushed voices” Bobbi, being more experienced that the rest and a better liar, said.
“Huh” May replied, definitely not convinced but quite sure she’ll find out soon enough. Right now she needed to talk to Coulson, he’s one guy who’d definitely know if the kids were up to something.
“Ok, I’ll go meet Coulson” May said. As she turned to leave all of them started saying “May wait”.
She halted on her feet immediately, they were definitely up to something. Jemma said “You can’t go to the Director’s office”
“and why is that ?” May asked, raising an eyebrow.
“because … because we said so Agent May” Lance replied, the rest of the team looked at him as if he had blurted out something really horrible.
“Ok now I’m definitely going” May replied and turned to leave.
“No use, he isn’t there anyway” Skye mumbled to herself, but May was no novice, she immediately caught on to that as said “what do you mean he isn’t there Skye ?” She asked strictly.
“Umm.. Coulson might not be in his office or bunk because he had to go somewhere and asked us not to tell you” Skye replied fidgeting with her hands. She had been training with May for so long, and was quite comfortable with her, but there were moments which still made her nervous.
“and you guys know where he went but you won’t tell me right ?” May asked. She knew that her team was working on something with Coulson and if it was something dangerous then he would’ve told her, so she decided to let go.
The team nodded and that was exactly when Coulson,Tripp and Mack entered. “We’re back” Tripp shouted.
The team stood up and rushed over to the entry, thanks to the injury May couldn’t rush as fast as them and by the time she got there, Phil along with the whole team was standing there, holding a Christmas tree. Phil had one hand hidden behind him, she could see it was holding a bag, but right now all she could concentrate was on the Christmas tree.
Seeing May’s look Phil answered “C’mon May, it’s Christmas tomorrow, we just defeated one of our biggest enemies and I thought the team could use a break, so why not celebrate Christmas” he had a huge smile on his face as he said that, which was enough for May to agree to their plan.
“Ok” May replied. The team did deserve a break, to be frank even she did, but she knew it wouldn’t be totally possible as long as the decorations were in the hands of the kids, but yes they had faced so much in the past few months, this was needed.
“Really ? we thought you'd say no” Skye asked, now grinning wider than Coulson.
“I like Christmas” May replied with a smirk “but .. you have to promise you guys won’t burn down the kitchen and create a mess, ok ?”
“Yes mooooooommmm” Skye replied in a teasing manner. Allowing Hunter to take over his place, Coulson stepped back as the team took in the Christmas tree, to get to work. Coulson stood back watching them, he felt content and happy, he really had a great team that he was really proud of.
May walked up to him and asked “What are you hiding ?”
Noticing how close May was standing near him, he said “Hey! No peeking, I let you know later ok?”
May tried to stare him down but he was strong “No May, no matter how much you stare, I’m not telling you”
Huffing and shrugging May replied “Ok, now if you don’t mind, I need to go re-dress my shoulder injury, I’ll meet you later”
Coulson replied “wait for me there May, I’ll help you out”
“No it’s fi..” May tried to say but was cut off.
“No it isn’t, it’s either me of Jemma and since Jemma is with the team, I’m going to do that alright ?”
Realising there was no point in arguing with him May left to go to the med bay.
__________________________
The team here on the other hand was busy decorating the stuff.
Skye and Tripp had taken up the duty of the Christmas Tree.Lance and Bobbi were busy decorating the lounge, while Mack,Fitz and Jemma took up the job of helping out in the kitchen.
“So what are we gonna be making ?” Mack asked.
“Christmas Ham and Dundee cake” Jemma and Fitz answered unanimously. They looked at each other after that, a bit embarrassed. They were still working on their relationship, on becoming the friends they used to be before everything went haywire, they didn’t talk much but they realised neither of them were incomplete without each other.
“okayyyyy..” Mack replied awkwardly, seeing the way they were staring at each other.
“Well I have heard about Christmas ham, but what’s a Dundee cake ?” he asked.
“Well it’s .. aahh… well it’s a .. Sco ..” Fitz struggled to say when Jemma answered “It’s a tradition Scottish cake made for Christmas” Jemma replied.
Fitz looked at her and gave a small smile.
“When we visited our homes for Christmas during holidays, while we were in the academy, Fitz’s mum used to make it” Jemma continued with a smile on her face.
“and you know how to make it ?” Mack asked.
“I do” Fitz replied and then continued “but .. uhh … I’ll need help because my hand ..” he trailed off.
“Don’t look at me” Mack replied lifting up his hands, “I don’t want to give it a try and destroy it, I think since Jemma has eaten it already, she should be the one helping you out” he continued.
Fitz looked at Jemma and a second later she nodded her head.
“Let’s get to work, you guys do those two and I’ll handle Apple Pie and cookies” Mack said and went to one corner of the kitchen and started working. He knew that Jemma and Leo really cared about each other, and being a mercenary, he knew the value of friendship, and really wanted these 2 to work it out.
Jemma and Fitz stood there a bit awkwardly before getting to work.
___________________________________
“Do you think the lighting should go here or there ?” Lance asked Bobbi.
“Keep it wherever you want, we have lots of it” Bobbi replied.
“Ok, and can you tell me why are you pissed off at me ?” Lance asked.
“Who said I am ?” Bobbi replied sternly.
“Well since you’re being so nice to me and listening to everything I’m saying ..” Lance began saying but was cut off by Bobbi “aah Sarcasm ! Yeah clearly I have no reason to be angry with you” Bobbi replied.
“What did I do ?” he asked frustrated.
“Nothing” Bobbi replied.
“Oh C’mon ! I know something’s irritating you” Lance replied.
“Why do you care ?” Bobbi asked.
“Of course I care, I’ve always cared about you” Lance replied.
“Yeah ? then why did you come between me and that Hydra agent yesterday ?” Bobbi asked.
“Oh so that’s what it’s about, it was a strategic move” Lance replied.
“Strategic ? what part of the strategy involves you getting almost killed while protecting me ?” Bobbi replied clearly frustrated.
“ahaa ! So you care about me and it’s me getting almost killed that made you angry” Lance replied with a smile.
Bobbi kept quiet and started arranging the mistletoes.
Lance dropped his stuff and walked over to her and said “Hey but I didn’t die right ?”
“No you didn’t, but don’t even try becoming a shield between me and an enemy ok ?” Bobbi replied.
“Sorry lad, can’t help it” Lance replied. Bobbi couldn’t help but smile at that, so Lance said “well we all won’t be meeting before lunch, and we have some time, wanna sneak out for a bit ?”
“I’d like that” Bobbi replied and they both left to go the the bunks area.
_______________________
“Did you just see Bobbi and Lance leave ?” Skye asked.
“I sure did girl” tripp replied.
“They’re fighting one moment and then it’s like nothing ever happened between them” Skye replied snorting.
“I totally agree, but hey it’s Christmas time, love and friendship is in the air” Tripp replied making Skye laugh.
“You seem to know a lot about Christmas” Skye said.
“Oh I sure do, it was quite big deal in my family” Trip replied, now putting up the candy sticks onto the tree.
“Yeah ?” Skye asked wrapping around the lights.
“Oh yeah, my grandparents were very strict about this being a family occasion, all uncles, aunts, cousins were supposed to be at one place to celebrate it” Tripp replied.
“Wow, you had lots of fun filled Christmas memories” Skye replied. Tripp couldn’t instantly hear the sadness in her voice.
“You never celebrated Christmas ?” Tripp asked.
Skye looked up at him and said “With family ? Never” she replied shaking her head and continued “In the orphanage it would be lots of kids together but neither getting a real chance at celebrating, foster parents weren’t really enthusiastic about involving me in the celebrations, Miles didn’t really believe in Christmas and stuff and my real dad … well he turned out to be a monster so ..” Skye trailed off, now sitting on the floor, taking the gifts and wrapping them up.
Tripp sat down beside her and said “Hey come here”
Skye crawled up to him and rested her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her and said “Well what happened has happened, you can’t change it, but now you have us, we might not be the conventional real family types but we are pretty darn’ good girl and we’ll make sure you find out how Christmas with family feels like”
Skye sat like that for a moment, Tripp was one of those people she genuinely saw as a friend and as a big brother types. He cared for her and protected her. she thought of the past few days, how much had happened with her over time, how much she had lost but also how much she had gained, she now had people she could call as family, Coulson who was almost like a real dad because her own father couldn’t be one for her, May who was protective like a mother, Jemma and Fitz, those 2 adorable cousins in the team, Lance and Bobbi, the bickering yet loving couple and Tripp, her friend. Yeah this wasn’t a family in the conventional sense but she liked it, she loved this family.
“Now who’s gonna put up the star ?” Trip asked.
“You go ahead, I can’t reach it anyway” Skye replied, wiping off that tear from her eyes that threatened to fall out and standing up.
“Oh you sure can” Trip replied handing her the star and before she could react he lifted her up almost onto her shoulder.
“woah !!” Skye shrieked and laughed out loud and reached out to place the star that completed their now beautiful looking Christmas tree.
Once she got down, they both looked at their work and Skye said “Good job huh ?”
“Oh yes girl, we make a great team, hi5!” Trip replied putting forward his hand and Skye slammed her palm into his.
________________________
After dressing up her wounds, which did take a lot of time because there were quite a few cuts on her shoulders and arms that needed dressing, Coulson and May finally stepped back into the lounge.
They glanced around to see their team at work, the lounge looked completely different from what it had been like before they left. They were really proud of their team.
“They did a great job huh ?” Coulson asked.
“They sure did” May replied.
They stood beside each other. Many Christmases between them and none that felt this good. They had been through some lovely Christmas memories from their days at the academy, from times during their missions, from when they were dating, they had sad Christmas memories from post Bahrain times, the first time since they first joined the academy when they didn’t celebrate Christmas together. Melinda had refused to open the door and Phil stayed outside waiting for her and finally left, leaving the gift he had brought for her.
So much had changed between them, they were an excited pair of youngsters waiting to change the world, with big dreams in their eyes and now they were no more that young, no more big dreams in eyes and excitement in heart but rather a sense of contentment that even though so much had changed, they were still here, together.
May looked beside and saw that Phil had been looking at her, his eyes containing an intense emotion that she couldn’t decipher or maybe one she did but wasn’t ready to acknowledge, fearing what would happen if she did, but as the seconds passed by she found her resolve breaking and herself leaning slightly towards him and he doing the same when a loud crash and shriek from the kitchen broke the moment and they moved away from each other quickly.
“Fitz !! be careful, it’s going to burn” Jemma shrieked.
“I’ll be fine Jemma, I don’t need you telling me, I know how to handle something like this” Fitz replied.
“I’m not saying you don’t know, just asking you to be careful” Jemma replied.
“No need, I can take care of myself” Fitz said and Jemma went quiet. This was a bad idea of letting them work together Mack thought.
“Everything fine ?” Coulson asked.
“Yes sir, we’ll be ok” Mack replied.
Coulson nodded, a bit disappointed that Jemma and Fitz still hadn’t worked out things between them.
“It smells wonderful here, you’re almost done ?” May asked.
“Yup, just 5 more minutes” Mack replied.
“Ok, Phil and I will set the table” May replied and she and Phil left.
“Why should we be setting the table ?” Phil asked her almost whispering.
“Well firstly because we did almost nothing to help them ..” May said but was cut off by Phil “Hey I brought the tree”
“More like you stood there while Mack and Trip carried it” replied rolling her eyes, before Coulson could answer she continued “and because they need a chance to talk” she said pointing towards Jemma and Fitz.
________________________
Jemma had walked over to the stairs, her eyes filled with tears. Fitz walked over to her quietly and sat beside her. As soon as he came she looked to the side wiping off her tears. Fitz took out his handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to her. Jemma looked at him and tried to refuse but Fitz insistently put it into her hands.
“I’m sorry for being so rude to you” Fitz said a moment later, very softly.
“It’s ok Fitz, it’s not like it was intentional” Jemma replied with a smile.
“No it wasn’t but I shouldn’t have .. I … I .. I don’t .. want to .. hurt you” Fitz replied.
“You didn’t hurt me” Jemma replied.
“No .. I Have .. I know that” Fitz said and before Jemma could say anything he continued “It’s just.. I missed you so much .. when you went .. and now .. you are back .. and I..”he trailed off finding it hard to continue.
“I know, I missed you too, but I came back, for you” Jemma replied “you’re my best friend Fitz, we’re a team, FitzSimmons, I can’t work without you”
“I know, so can’t I.. can you forgive me .. and give me .. a .. a chance ?” Fitz asked looking at her.
“Of course I can .. you’re my best friend” Jemma replied and gave fitz a hug as he wrapped his arms around her. It would take time, but he was done punishing Jemma for something she wasn’t to be blamed. He wanted her in his life, if as a best friend was all he could get, he was happy with that.
“We should get back, poor Mack’s all alone in the kitchen” Jemma said, wiping of the tears, and Fitz nodded.
__________________________
Once the team was all settled they started to have lunch, it was undoubtedly the most lavish lunch they had in months. The Dundee cake was really a fabulous dish and everybody gorged it like it was their last meal. Mack had done a great job with what he made and the Christmas Ham would now become a compulsory dish that would be made for every festive occasion whether Christmas or not.
After finishing off their dinner, the team went and settled onto the couches to watch some movie, Trip had found in one of the shops. May had insisted that she’ll clean up the table because she had helped them the least. Also considering that she couldn’t drink because of the medicines she was taking, she felt the team could relax a bit more and she could get some work done, she was Melinda May after all, sitting idly doing nothing was something that was impossible for her.
She had started cleaning the dishes when she heard footsteps, the smell of his cologne was enough to make her guess it was him.
“You should go sit with them, I can manage” she said.
“Nah! their watching some new movie,discussing some actors I haven’t even heard the name off” Phil replied.
“Making you feel old ?” May asked smirking, not yet turning around to look at him.
“You can say so” Phil chuckled and joined beside her to help her clean up the dishes.
“It was fun today right ?” Phil asked a moment later.
“Yeah it was, the team deserved a break” May replied.
“So did you” Phil answered looking at her.
She didn’t look back afraid of what would happen if she did.
Once they were done and Melinda turned to leave Phil caught her by the wrist. She stopped wondering what would happen next, having a clear idea what but still not sure if it should.
“Hey Christmas ain’t over yet” Phil replied.
“What else is left ?” She asked curious.
“Just wait” he said..
She raised an eyebrow and saw as Phil went to one of the counters and brought the cover he had been carrying in the morning.
“Your Christmas gift” he said giving it to her.
“Phil you didn’t have to ..” Melinda tried to protest but was cut off by Phil “Shh.. just open it” he said.
Melinda opened the cover and brought out a box, she had almost managed to guess what it was yet on opening it she gave one of the most beautiful smiles Phil had ever seen.
The box contained 12 muffins, choco-chip muffins, Melinda’s favourite, along with that, were two small bottles containing orange juice.
“You remembered” May said surprised, looking up at Phil, the medicines reacting in a way she didn’t want to and she could feel her eyes well up.
“Of course, how can I forget our Christmas tradition ?” He replied. “It’s been long since we celebrated Christmas properly, so I thought why not start up an old tradition again”
“Thank you” Melinda said and immediately took out one muffin and took a bite. Phil could see the happiness in her face and knowing that he was the reason behind it made him really glad. He slowly rested one palm of his on the palm of the hand she had rested on the counter.
She halted mid way and looked at him surprised. She knew what he wanted to do, and even though she had some apprehensions before, she was ready now, if he was ready to take the risk, she would too.
She looked at Phil, who looked at her. Eyes speaking for them, saying what words can’t. They just stood there, looking at each other. Not sure who should make the next move when Skye said from the door of the kitchen “Well if you just need a reason to kiss, there’s a mistletoe above”
Phil and Melinda looked at her instantly, both of them feeling like 2 caught teenagers. Skye just looked at them and grinned. She walked to the fridge, took a water bottle and left saying “Don’t worry guys, we won’t disturb you”
Phil and Melinda chuckled and Phil took hold of Melinda’s hand in his and entwined their fingers.
“We won’t get a quiet moment with these kids” He said shaking his head and was about to move when Melinda stopped him. “I know but tradition is tradition right ?” she said raising an eyebrow with a small smile and looked up at the mistletoe.
“Yeah, tradition is tradition” Phil replied and he moved towards her and wrapped his arm around her waist to bring her closer to him and caught her lips in his for a soft, wonderful kiss. They broke a moment later on hearing noises from the lounge.
Phil rested his forehead on hers and smiling he whispered “This is how Christmas with kids feels like” May chuckled and replied “I guess so” and they both walked towards the lounge holding each others’ hand.
The End