"Everyone clear on what they have to do?" Fitz asked. His voice was oddly deep.
Simmons looked up from her computer monitor and almost chuckled at Fitz's behavior. He was trying so hard to appear nonchalant, as if he'd asked a coded question. He was even looking at her sideways, leaning against his desk.
"Last I checked yes, Fitz, everyone knew what they had to do."
"And the timetable hasn't changed?"
She wiped her face clear of any emotion and deepened her voice. "The deal is set for six o'clock, surveillance set up at a close perimeter." She broke character and laughed. "Honestly Fitz, it's a surprise party, not a serious mission."
He shrugged his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around himself self-consciously. "Doesn't mean we can't have fun with it," he muttered.
"Oh we'll have plenty of fun," Simmons promised, softening. "May and Coulson have something special planned."
"You're not at all worried that Melinda May was the first to volunteer to plan the fun activity?" Fitz asked, straightening. "What if she makes us do drills, or worse?"
"She wouldn't," Simmons said, waving the comment away. Then she stopped. "But Daisy does love May's fitness challenges…" she met Fitz's 'I told you so' look with her own slightly panicked one. "Oh Fitz, what if she makes us do drills? We're not up to their caliber yet!"
"You're the one who said 'oh what a splendid idea' when she volunteered." He grumbled. "It's on you."
She bit the inside of her lip. "We're just being silly. Coulson is helping, and he won't let a party turn into a training session."
Fitz picked up a few pieces from his desk and started deftly maneuvering them in his hands, building them into… something. Simmons didn't know if he even knew what the final product would be. "Maybe we should have an escape plan, just in case. Some reason to leave early."
"Are you saying you're not feeling well?"
Fitz stopped his tinkering. "What?" She raised her eyebrows at him and he flushed, smiling sheepishly. "Right, yeah."
"And I have a responsibility to take care of you and make sure you get plenty of rest if you start feeling worse at any point. I might have to take you home."
Fitz moved closer to her. "I like the idea of being home with you."
"After our mission," Simmons said, pecking him on the cheek and then walking past him. "We need to focus if we're going to pull it off."
May tightened a final knot and wiped her hands off on her pants. It looked alright in daylight. Hopefully it would be more impressive in the dark. As long as Coulson was doing his part, it would go off without a hitch.
A huge clatter of solid objects hitting the floor made May tense for a microsecond, and then she sighed. "Very stealthy."
"I might've grabbed more than I could carry," Phil said.
She turned and saw him picking up bowling pins, and went to help him. "I said grab something for a trap, and you pick fake bowling pins?"
"The racket they make will add to the urgency as they go through your entertainment. Don't make a wrong move."
May shook her head. Coulson was having too much fun with this. "Did you get what you actually went out for?"
He held up the aerosol can. "Did you really think I'd forget? There's two more in Lola's trunk if we need them."
May took the can from him, shook it, and started spraying it over the edges of her little playground. "Daisy didn't notice you leave?"
"Haven't seen her today," Coulson said, bringing the bowling pins over to the sack waiting to be filled and tied up. "Fitz-Simmons should be running interference once Yo-Yo goes to get the cake."
"This will be ready in another hour or so," May said. "Let's hope everything stays in place until tonight."
"Are you sure you do not want to go anywhere?"
Daisy looked at her carefully, and Elena cursed herself for being too suspicious. "I'm good. I've got a bit of a headache."
"I only ask again because the last time I went to run an errand, Mack was waiting for me the second I got back, and he made me go out with him for those little snacks he likes."
Daisy lost the skeptical look and replaced it with a knowing one. "You went back out for him?"
Elena scoffed. "Like I could let him go on his own. He wouldn't be back until the next day, he is so slow."
"You should get going."
Elena stood. "Do you want me to bring anything back for you?"
"Nah, I'm fine." Daisy lay back on her bed, reaching for her laptop. Elena smiled at her and walked out of the bunk, heading to the lab. She had said happy birthday to Daisy right when she'd gone to see her, so her friend knew she wasn't forgotten, but she doubted Daisy expected any big surprise. Elena had been given the task of getting cake and balloons, and planned on finding the best of both. Mack would be there to carry the bags.
"We still have to find an apartment." Jemma's voice carried from inside the lab.
"True. We should have a place of our own for when we get back from our honeymoon."
"Already planned it out?"
"I've got some ideas. But we need the wedding first."
Elena stopped just outside the door, her emotions swirling with this overhead information. They were engaged! She wanted to congratulate them and then thought better of it. They hadn't meant for her to overhear. She knocked on the open door to make her presence known, and from how startled the scientists looked, decided she had made the right choice in not yelling congrats.
"I'm going to the store with Mack," she told them. "Daisy is in her room. She said she had a headache."
Simmons jumped on the information. "I'll take her some aspirin in a bit and make sure she's not getting into any trouble."
"I'll leave you to it," Elena said, and went to find Mack. He was hanging around the cars, inspecting them. "Should I leave you alone?" she asked as he opened one of the hoods.
He closed it. "Ready?"
She pulled the door shut in answer, buckling up before he'd even gotten into the car. "Impatient much?" Mack asked as Elena backed the car out of the base. "We've got hours till the party."
"Spoken like a true Turtle-Man."
Mack stopped at the corner for a microsecond as Elena zipped ahead to make sure the coast was clear. When she zoomed back into place he rounded the corner, taking long strides. He hated carrying the big bag like this, completely exposed. Yeah, Yo-Yo was checking ahead of them at every turn, but it felt so… not spy-like.
"You had to pick the tallest cake," he complained.
"Too heavy?" she teased.
He cracked a smile. "Just keep checking ahead of us."
Once the cake was safely in the room they went to the lab to fill the balloons. Coulson and May were in there.
"Good, you're back," Coulson said. "May and I will bring the balloons to the staging area. You two grab Fitz-Simmons and tell them we're good to go with the fake-out."
He and Elena checked Daisy's room and found it empty, and decided to check the kitchen. "And what are you guys up to?"
Daisy was doubled-over laughing. Fitz was on his stomach on the floor, Simmons laughing as she crouched next to him.
"Fitz was trying to prove he could do more push-ups than me," Daisy managed, still chuckling. Fitz looked up and smiled at Mack.
"He tripped before he even started," Simmons said.
Fitz sat up, leaning on one arm. "Not one of my finer moments."
"It made my night!" Daisy exclaimed, starting to laugh again.
"I would not be so sure about that," Elena said. "We have a birthday to celebrate."
Daisy stopped and looked at them all carefully. "I didn't think you guys all knew it was today."
"We wouldn't be very good friends if we didn't," Mack said. "Come on. Coulson and May should have the food set out by now."
"I hope they got pizza," Fitz said as he stood.
"You know they did," Simmons said.
Fitz frowned at her. "Yes, and now that surprise has been ruined for Daisy."
"It's fine," Daisy said to them. She was still smiling. "It's more than I expected. Let's go."
She and Elena walked out quickly, followed by Fitz-Simmons a second later. Mack stayed behind for a minute to make sure everything was clean. He was pretty sure things would get messy in the staging area, so it was better to be on top of the mess. It only took two minutes to wash the glasses on the counter and put them away.
Mack started to step out of the kitchen and saw Fitz and Simmons kissing. Like, really kissing, right outside the door. They had to have known he would come out any minute. This was just ridiculous. He turned to go back into the room, but they'd separated, at least for a moment.
"I can't wait to marry you," Fitz said quietly.
"You're engaged?"
They practically spun around at Mack's exclamation, eyes wide at being caught. "It's not – we - ."
"We didn't want to say it today - ."
Mack shook his head. "About damn time."
They stopped their sputtered explanations. "Really?"
Mack fought the urge to shake Fitz. "No, I think it's too soon," he couldn't contain the sarcasm. "And Yo-Yo says I'm slow moving."
They looked really happy, holding hands. "We just don't want everyone to find out tonight," Simmons said.
"It's Daisy's night, not ours," Fitz explained.
"Yeah," Mack agreed as they started walking after the others. "But when we do talk about this, I get to be best man, right Turbo?"
"Is that really a question?" Simmons asked, while at the same time Fitz said "Yes, of course."
Mack grinned.
Daisy acted surprised when she saw Coulson and May waiting in the dining area. That was the only part she faked though. Her joy was absolutely genuine, her okay day becoming a fantastic one in just a few minutes. Everyone she cared about was standing in that room, pouring drinks and eating pizza. Coulson was even wearing one of those silly birthday hats. They drank more than they probably should have as everyone told Daisy their favorite memories with her, drinking and laughing the minutes away.
"The first time we went to the Hub, when Fitz and Ward were on that mission from Hand," Coulson said. "That's when I knew I made the right call letting you on the team. You looked for information on them, even though you had orders not to, and it was the right call."
Daisy looked at Simmons and chuckled, thinking of another part of that day. Simmons smiled with her at the memory. They were definitely much smoother now.
"I still like your independent phase, when you became Quake," Mack said. "Very badass."
Daisy threw an empty cup at him, and then sighed. "Thank you guys. For this. It means a lot."
"We don't get an excuse to party that often," May joked.
"Though we will have another one soon!" Elena chuckled, looking pointedly at Fitz-Simmons.
Daisy wasn't the only one to look at them, especially after Mack shot Elena a warning look. Fitz-Simmons seemed tense. "What's up?" Daisy asked.
"It's not important tonight," Simmons insisted.
Daisy looked at them carefully. They seemed more relaxed with each other than they'd been in some time. Happier. And it clicked. "You're engaged, aren't you?"
They'd become much better liars, but Daisy knew them too well to miss the flicker in their expressions that meant she was right. "Why wouldn't you tell me before?" she demanded, a little offended. "I've been hoping for this since the day I met you!"
"It's your birthday," Fitz said like an excuse, though he seemed unsure now. "We didn't want to steal your thunder or anything."
Daisy looked at Simmons for confirmation of this and saw that her friend was already showing signs of regret. Daisy stood and hugged the pair of them. "Well you shouldn't have kept it from us," she said seriously. She stepped back and looked at them, scoffing. "Like I'd be mad about this! You're letting me help plan it. And I better see that ring tomorrow."
Slightly awkward engagement reveal aside, everyone started congratulating the now beaming couple, Daisy the most enthusiastically. The fact that they'd hidden it to keep the focus on her birthday – when she hadn't expected any sort of focus at all – made her love them even more.
She started to walk to her room a few minutes later, but May caught at her arm, spinning her around. "You didn't think this was it, did you?"
"There's more?"
The smile on May's face made both apprehension and excitement tingle along Daisy's spine. "Our present."
Fitz walked next to Daisy and Jemma as they followed the others to May's surprise. He was hoping Jemma would remember their 'he wasn't feeling good' excuse if May's present turned out to be a drill session. Now that he was a bit tipsy, he especially didn't want to run a strength exercise. He'd failed enough completely sober.
But he didn't need the excuse to leave. There was an elaborate structure set up near the hangar, with high wooden walls and ropes hanging at certain angles high above, some holding up sacks.
"We need to do cake," May said, crossing her arms. "But we need the plates, forks, and candles first. All of which are somewhere in this maze."
"Shouldn't be too hard," Mack said.
"Shouldn't have said that," Coulson warned. "You're in two teams. Mack and Simmons, Fitz and Yo-Yo. Try to keep the other team from getting all the materials first. But without weapons."
"What about me?" Daisy asked.
"You need to defend your cake," May said. "As far as you're concerned, they're trying to steal it."
Fitz looked at Yo-Yo. "Think we can beat them?" he whispered.
"No powers," Coulson said. "You can use anything in the maze to your advantage, though."
Yo-Yo shrugged. "Against Turtle-Man, we'll be fine. Simmons poses more of a threat, but nothing we can't handle."
"I'm really not that slow," Mack complained.
Yo-Yo beamed at him good-naturedly. Fitz looked at Simmons as seriously as he could. "Let the games begin," he said.
"May the best team win," she replied.
Fitz smiled at her, mirroring her determination. It was certainly interesting to be competing with Simmons again.
"Now for the final part," May said. She walked over to the wall and flipped the light switch.
But instead of seeing only a black room, Fitz saw walls and ropes and passages, all glowing with a vibrant green color. "Bloody hell," he said, grinning. This was incredible. It had to have taken most of the day to set up. Scratch that. May had probably worked on it before that day, it was so elaborate.
"Daisy, get in there." Coulson said.
"If you compare me to the minotaur I'll break the no powers rule," Daisy warned as she passed.
Fitz laughed nervously. "I don't think she was kidding," Elena said.
"She was," Mack said confidently.
Fitz decided to believe Mack as May and Coulson told them to enter the maze. He walked hesitantly, trying to look ahead for telltale signs of a trap. A glistening string waiting to trip them, a darkened section of wall. For the most part it worked. He and Yo-Yo managed to avoid a lot of things.
The others weren't so lucky apparently. After collecting the plate and fork for their team, Fitz and Yo-Yo stopped when there was a huge clattering sound, immediately followed by exclamations of surprise from Simmons, Mack, and Daisy.
"Well that sounded interesting," Fitz said as the sound faded back to silence, the other team no doubt trying to recover their dignity. Fitz would be teasing Jemma about it for sure, assuming he didn't spring any worse traps before this was over.
He could just see Yo-Yo's expression in the glow in the dark light. "Daisy got into that trap with them. I do not think Coulson and May meant for that to happen."
Then a laugh sounded from the front of the room, quickly stifled but heard nonetheless.
Fitz looked back that way. "Or maybe it was exactly what they wanted."
"We just need the candle," Yo-Yo said, giving Fitz a light push.
In the end it was a mad dash for the finish line, Fitz, Yo-Yo, and Daisy rushing from the left, Mack and Simmons from the right. May and Coulson stood at the opening, behind a table holding a birthday cake with candles already lit.
Daisy grinned as they approached. "Best birthday ever."
"Happy Birthday Daisy."