Jemma and Skye were spending their free afternoon together, lying lazily on Simmons' bed.

'But I wouldn't know how to act, I can't even dance' said the young scientist, staring into the ceiling that was covered with a sheet of material that made it emulate the sky. It was incredibly beautiful at night, especially when there were few clouds. Fitz had designed and installed it as an early Christmas present. It was a beautiful cerulean shape now, not a single cloud disturbing the sky. 'And I'd need a super fancy dress, oh dear Stephen Fry, that sounds uncomfortable'

'You are so British' laughed Skye at the choice of deity Jemma chose to address. 'And it's not like I've been to many balls either. Any balls, actually. But it's gonna be fun, I'm sure about that. And mandatory for everyone except May, according to Coulson.'

The agent in charge had announced at lunch that there was to be an incredibly posh Christmas S.H.I.E.L.D ball, and everyone was supposed to attend it. That is, of course, everyone who is not on a mission at the time, 24 December.

'Ugh, why am I not a super talented and mega cool level 56 agent who can just say she wants to go on a mission and get to' Jemma sighed, envying May's ability to get out of a situation like that.

'Come on, even Ward is coming, you can be sure that you are not going to be the most uncomfortably-feeling person there.' The other girl joked, but the comment did actually make Jemma feel more comfortable. She'd realised that his presence always did wonders to relax her, despite the nervous ball in her stomach whenever he was around, which was a bit of a paradox, really, but it just felt right. She wasn't sure when that had started, she had always admired and respected Ward, first as a colleague, then as a friend, and then… somewhere during the increasing in amount time that they had spent together, she started having all these… feelings, perhaps not yet strong enough to be called love, but very, very different from friendship.

Skye snapped her out of her thoughts. 'Buut' she started, a grin forming on her lips 'According to every movie ever, the preparation for the ball is going to be rad as hell. First, we gotta go dress-shopping, somewhere fancy where they offer you champagne while you try on things, this we should do like tomorrow, 'cause there isn't much time, and then on the day of the ball, we'll get our hair done and go to the spa and everything.'

'That does sound nice' Simmons sighed, turning her head from the ceiling to her friend.

The team had the whole week off, Christmas vacation, Coulson called it, and they were in Washington, DC, where the ball was to be held, so on the next day, 22 December, the two girls set off to find dresses. Skye had done some research the previous night and had found an actual shop where they did offer champagne (or wine) to customers. They found it easily enough and when they came in, they were astounded at the incredible variety of stunning dresses. A young man, dressed in a dark blue silk suit, introduced himself as Joseph and offered them his half an hour of trying this and that, Skye finally found 'the right one' – a beautiful burgundy one-shoulder dress that fit her just perfectly.

Then came Jemma's turn. After having made Skye promise she wouldn't laugh at her (which the other girl wouldn't have anyway) she went into the dressing room with a dress that Joseph had said would 'fit her like a glove and make her look even more fabulous'. She liked the colours – beautiful dark blue with silver embroidery all over the top part, and a bit at the bottom. It was sleeveless and it was exactly what one would imagine when they heard the words 'a princess dress'. Any doubts that Jemma had disappeared when she saw herself in the mirror – she looked beautiful and dress fit in all the right places and she couldn't help but wonder what Ward would think when he saw her.

The next day, Skye and Simmons spent, as the former predicted, in the spa and hair salon. Arriving precisely at the appointed time when the team was to meet up in front of the hotel where the ball was and where the rest of the team was already expecting them, the two girls literally left their teammates mouth agape. Skye had had her hair done in a beautiful bun, two curls on each side casually left out, framing her face. Jemma's front bangs were carefully collected back, the rest of her hair falling onto her bare shoulders. Coulson, of course, was the first one to say something:

'You look great, ladies.'

'So do you, Agent Coulson' smiled Skye 'but that's nothing new' Coulson laughed and motioned the group to go in. Ward and Fitz, who were standing there silently, just nodded and followed the direction of the older agent's hand, Fitz too caught up in Skye to notice his best friend. He did tell her later that she looked like 'Hermione at the Yule Ball' so she forgave him.

Grant, however, walk up to Jemma and took her hand, leading her into the ballroom. 'You look great' he breathed just a few inches from her. She mumbled a 'thank you' but then all other thoughts left her mind when she saw the room. It was huge and gorgeous – it looked like a ballroom from a Disney film. Soft music was playing and while most people were talking to each other or sitting on tables, there were a few couples that were dancing.

She spent some time talking to the people in the room, to some friends from the academy, some not so anticipated faces. Most of the time she was with Ward. It was a comfort to have him at her side, for even though separately they were not in the possession of great social skills, when they were together, they did alright. Finally, he asked her to dance.

'Oh, I'm not so sure, I really can't dance, to be honest.'

'Come on, Simmons, we are at a BALL.'

'I'll step on your feet. A lot.'

'I'm fine with that.'

'Ugh, okay, but don't say I didn't warn you'

They started dancing, slowing their pace as much as possible as to avoid possible accidents, but even like that, a few were inevitable. In between false steps and almost tripping, they shared a word or two, but they were mostly enjoying a comfortable silence.

'I really like your dress.'

'Oh thank you, I do like it as well. It's in Ravenclaw colours, after all.'

'I should have seen that coming. You are such a geek' He chuckled, rolling his eyes.

'That, I am' Jemma said, lifting her chin proudly. Ward smiled at her, admiring her beauty. He found himself doing that quite a lot lately. Admiring her beauty and her humour and the fact that she was incredibly smart and kind and always tried to cheer people up. Admiring her as a whole.

'You do look incredibly beautiful tonight' He heard himself saying, unable to control his brain-mouth filter, which was very much not Ward-y. 'Not that you don't look beautiful everyday, I mean, but now you are like… wow' He REALLY couldn't stop himself.

Simmons smiled, her cheeks rapidly gaining the colour of Skye's dress.

'Thank you' she almost whispered 'You look 'wow' as well' The last part came more steadily, she said it staring in his eyes. Before she knew it, her own were closing, in anticipation of the kiss that made her every cell explode.