Warm on a Cold Night
A SUBTLE NEON glow filled Bobbi’s room, disrupting the darkness that had enveloped her for the past hour and a half. She had blinked until she could see the little glowing stars that she had tacked to the roof of her bunk. They weren’t as green as they once were, but it cut through the color like a knife.
She had lost her cellphone somewhere in her nest of blankets but felt around blindly for the little device. Her arms still ached from the latest training session, hair damp from the shower she took shortly after. Bobbi flinched away from the light of the phone but eventually read the message.
JEM: Are you awake?
Bobbi snorted. She had gotten more than one of these messages before; it was usually after a Hunter had a few too many. She would ignore it, push the little button on the side of the phone and roll her aching body over on its side for a fitful sleep.
BOBBI: I’m awake, you okay?
Jemma didn’t text much. She stuck to the coms and when she wasn’t murmuring into the microphone lodged in her ear, she was trapped in the lab, fiddling with something much more complex than a phone. Bobbi felt her heart pick up speed.
There wasn’t an answer for a few minutes and she found herself gazing up at the stars again until the edges blurred. They were fuzzy, no matter how hard she blinked. Her fingers itched as she tapped at it incessantly. Jemma had probably fallen asleep.
Her phone buzzed again, this time longer. Bobbi looked at the caller ID for a long time before sliding to the home screen and pressing the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
“Did I wake you?” Jemma asked, her voice soft, cracking all the same “Obviously I didn’t I just…”
Bobbi smiled quietly to herself and turned to face the small door of her bunk. The brick behind her was cold and unforgiving. She blamed the way she shivered on that because it was easier than recognizing the pain in Jemma’s voice.
“What’s on your mind, Simmons?”
“It’s nearly Christmas.”
“I suppose it is.”
She had noticed the futile attempts of the team to spruce up the base. There was an old plastic tree that went up behind the television in the common room. They didn’t have ornaments so Fitz and Mack spent a long time cutting out little snowflakes from old reports. They strung them up before making red and green links to hang around the gym and lab. It somehow brightened the place up.
Holidays were a hard time for most here. Coulson was kind enough to give leave to those that still had a family. But for people like Jemma and Bobbi, it was easier to stay here. It was just another day, the air stiller and the world quiet, if not for a moment.
“Where are you?” Bobbi found herself asking, breaking the silence on the line.
“The kitchen, I couldn’t sleep so I wanted to make tea. Thought it would warm me.”
“Mm,” She hummed, “Have room for some company?”
“Of course.”
Bobbi silently clicked the phone off before pulling on a forest green cardigan. She wrapped it around her midsection to combat the cold. She was careful not to disturb anyone as she padded, barefoot and exhausted, towards the kitchen. The base was silent at this time of night.
She could swear that she smelled cookies or the pitiful attempt at making some. The kitchen was lit by the small bulb over the stove. Jemma sat at the end of the island, twirling the string of a teabag in between her fingers until they became too tangled to separate.
Jemma didn’t’ look up when Bobbi entered; instead, she lifted her chin to the other cup. It was hot chocolate, steaming, and covered in a layer of marshmallows. She smiled at that, because no, she wasn’t a tea person, not unless it was loaded with sugar and enough cream to forget that it was tea in the first place.
“What has you up tonight?” Bobbi asked. “You can’t be waiting for Santa. I’m pretty sure if the United States Government can’t find us, neither can he.”
Jemma scoffed “I would like to think so, though, we’ve seen stranger haven’t we?”
Bobbi swallowed a scalding gulp of her drink. Yes, they had seen stranger. She let out a hum of satisfaction as the chocolate coated her throat. It was warm all the way down. She didn’t know she was cold until then. Until it settled in her stomach.
“Is this about Skye?”
A certain hue of color found Jemma’s cheeks as she placed her own mug down. She started sputtering like one of the cars Mack worked on. There were no full thoughts, only half-sentences laced in panic. Finally, she took a deep breath. “Don’t be ridiculous Bobbi. Me being up in the middle of the night has nothing to do with Skye.”
“We’ve all had trouble sleeping, lately. You more than others. She’s your best friend, Jem.”
Bobbi found herself reaching across the island. She took Jemma’s hand and squeezed. The woman’s touch was cold but eventually, she relaxed, running her thumb over Bobbi’s absently.
“I said some truly awful things.” She said in a sigh “about people… people like her needing to be eradicated. Exterminated.”
“You didn’t know she had been affected by the obelisk.”
“No, I did.” She swallowed hard and squeezed even harder “Statistically there was no way Skye could have escaped the city without being changed by it. She just- oh bloody hell, she looked so normal. Shaken up but normal. I wanted her so desperately to be.”
Normal wasn’t anything anymore, that’s the first thought that entered Bobbi’s head as she stared down at the lone marshmallow in the cup. It continued to soak with earthy browns until it sunk to the bottom of the mugs. She frowned.
She watched Jemma carefully; the way she was paler than usual, and how the skin around her nails leaked crimson brighter than the paper hung on the tree. This was sinking to the bottom of her cup faster than the sugar in her tea.
“I said awful things.” She repeated.
“You’re not afraid of her, or what she’s capable of."
"I could never fear her." Jemma sniffed, nodding as she took the sleeve on her free hand and ran it sloppily against the base of her nose. Bobbi lilted her head to the side and withdrew her touch to round the counter. Jemma stared up at her, confused and hurt.
But Bobbi let her fall into her chest, wrapping her arms around her center and pressing her cheek into the crook of her neck. Jemma felt warm, on this impossibly cold night. Neither of them said a thing.
Bobbi let Jemma cry.