Chapter One

The first time Skye kissed Jemma was after she and Ward had returned safely from being fished out of the Moroccan ocean. Skye had to wait what felt like an eternity from when the alarm had went off indicating that the cargo hatch was open, until she saw Jemma standing there alive and well and talking with Ward in the lounge. She managed to only hug Jemma just then, albeit fiercely and for several long moments, but she had somehow been able to restrain herself at the time. It was a very different story a while later when she saw Jemma leaving Fitz's bunk.

She followed along silently as the woman headed towards her room, not that she was trying to sneak around behind her, it was more that her heart and her head and her mouth weren't working in conjunction with one another. As Jemma reached her door, intent on retiring for the night, Skye finally called her name.

"Simmons?"

"Oh!" She squeaked in surprise as she turned around, "Skye, I didn't hear y-omph."

The words were squeezed from her as Skye pulled her into another bone crushing hug.

"Don't ever do that again," Skye whispered with such heartbreaking emotion that Jemma could only reply with a nod into her shoulder.

After they parted, Skye caught Jemma's eyes, her gaze penetrating, searching, and then Skye leaned in and kissed Jemma tenderly. Jemma was a bit stunned at first, but as soon as Skye's hands came up to cradle her face sweetly, she felt herself responding to Skye's touch; the softness of her lips, the gentle pull of her mouth, the warmth of her body pressed against her front which seemed to wrap all around her, and just as Jemma was beginning to savor the experience - it was over. She opened her eyes to see Skye's retreating form and watched as she glanced back at her for the briefest of moments before she turned the corner and disappeared out of sight.

After closing the door safely behind her, Jemma collapsed on her bed, her mind replaying what had happened seconds ago. Skye had kissed her. Her friend, her teammate had kissed her. And in all honesty, it had been lovely. The heat from Skye's body had been a welcomed comfort as it staved off the chill that had seeped deep into her bones from the cold ocean, and now the last remnants of that radiating warmth were leaving her and she instantly missed it. That was the last conscious thought she had as the exhaustion finally took over and sleep claimed her.

The next day, Jemma slept little later than usual due to the fatigue from her inconvenient adventure the day before and took extra time to ready herself for the day ahead. She was anxious to see Skye, the person who was responsible for her current state. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts as she wondered what kind of reaction awaited her, if things were going to be weird now, what it had meant - if it meant anything - and what would happen going forward. Even though she was going through her morning routine at a later hour, she still hadn't seen Skye yet, and thus, figured the computer genius must still be asleep.

Fitz was waiting for her in the lounge and after a bit of toast and tea for breakfast, she followed him down to the lab, happy to get to work and to take her mind off of the Skye situation.

It was a little while later when Skye finally turned up looking tired and carrying a cup of coffee and her laptop. Jemma was hyper-aware of her presence, but much to her own confusion, Skye acted as normal as ever and showed no indication that anything could possibly be different. Absolutely no reaction from Skye was something that Jemma didn't count on and she was a little perplexed.

"Hey," Skye muttered in greeting as she took a seat in her usual spot in the lab.

"Morning." Fitz replied without even looking up from the work in front of him.

"Hi." Jemma said, looking at Skye as she settled into her chair, opened her laptop, and the screen blinked to life. Jemma thought it was strange, but didn't say anything more as they all worked on their respective projects.

Lunch with Fitz passed in a blur. He talked animatedly about some such topic and Jemma must have successfully nodded and agreed in all the right places since he didn't appear to notice that she wasn't really listening to him. Meanwhile, she remained stuck on her own questions; just what on earth was that kiss last night? How could Skye seem completely unaffected by what happened? And… just what the bloody hell?

The day progressed, grew late, came to a close, and Skye still didn't bring it up or show any signs of anything having happened between them, which still surprised Jemma. But really, she didn't even know how to begin that conversation either, so she took her cue from Skye and simply carried on as though everything was just completely normal.