"I can't believe you haven't kissed her yet." Ward scoffed, shaking his head as he placed the final items down on the large table. "You're such a dork."

Skye narrowed her eyes at him. "And I can't believe you're turning eighteen and decided to have a laser tag birthday party." she shot back, flashing a sarcastic grin to counter his dirty look. "Who's the dork now?"

Ward rolled his eyes and walked over to the attendant. He inspected the gun then handed it back. "All I'm saying is you've been dating the girl for almost a month."

Skye placed her hands down on the table. She was already completely over this conversation. "It's only been three weeks."

Ward made a face and walked back over to her. "Three weeks is almost a month."

"Well, aren't you a walking calendar." Skye arranged a few party favors on the table before tossing the rest down on the table and turning away from him.

Ward's eyes followed her. He turned, leaning back against the table and crossing his arms against his chest. "Man, you are extremely touchy about this. It's just a kiss."

Skye grabbed one of the laser guns from the wall. "Yeah with Jemma." She turned to face him again. "I really like her, Ward." She sighed, lowering the gun. "I don't want to screw anything up."

Ward mocked a pout followed by an obnoxious 'aw'. "You are adorable."

Skye shot him a scathing look as she pointed the laser gun at him. "I can't wait until I can shoot you with this thing."

Ward chuckled heavily and opened his mouth to respond until guests started to arrive. He was greeted with hand shakes and gifts. Some hard pats on the back came into play as well. It wasn't until the elevator doors opened and Jemma Simmons stepped out, with her best friend Fitz in tow, that his smirk returned.

"Jemma!" he greeted, unnecessarily loud causing Skye to drop her gun. He chuckled as he watched the attendant rush over to pick it up and place it back on the rack. He extended his arms, wrapping the girl in a hug. "I'm so glad you could make it."

Jemma furrowed her brow at the contact and shot Skye a look. Skye opened her mouth and shrugged, unsure of how to explain Ward's overly friendly behavior. "Um, hello, Ward." Jemma greeted, patting his back with her free hand. When she finally broke free of his grasp, she extended her occupied hand toward him. "Happy birthday."

Ward dropped his jaw in awe and Skye couldn't help but roll her eyes. Sometimes he could be a real ass. "You bought me a gift? You didn't have to." He accepted the present and gave her another quick hug. "Thanks, Jemma."

"You're welcome."

Ward leaned over, slapping Fitz hard on the arm. "Good to see you, Fitz. Thanks for coming."

Fitz's hand immediately covered the area Ward slapped. "Glad to be here." he lied, shooting Jemma a look. "I understand we are going to be participating in some sort of laser tournament."

"Laser tag." Ward corrected, wrapping his arm around Fitz's shoulders. "Come on. I'll show you the guns." He raised an eyebrow and grinned at Skye. "I'm pretty sure Skye and Jemma would like to greet each other properly. They don't need us hanging around."

Jemma felt the blush fill her cheeks and she quickly looked down at the floor. Skye's jaw clenched. She was pretty sure if it was possible to shoot daggers from her eyes, Ward would be dying on his birthday. He tossed a wink in his best friends direction and walked off with Fitz.

Skye pushed her hands down into the front pockets of her jeans and took a step toward Jemma. "Hey." she greeted, softly.

Jemma cleared her throat. "Hello, Skye."

Skye instantly felt the shiver run through her body. She loved the sound of her name coming from Jemma's lips. She leaned in, rather awkwardly, to give Jemma a hug. They shifted and danced around each other, giggling nervously before they finally found the correct way to do it. Jemma's arms wrapped around her neck and Skye held her waist. Skye shuttered again when Jemma's hands rested on the back of her neck, her fingers stroking gently up and down.

"I'm glad you're here." Skye whispered, squeezing just a little tighter.

Jemma smiled. "Thank you for inviting me."

Skye leaned back a bit, her hands remained on Jemma's hips. She wanted to kiss her so badly, but the party was starting to fill and now was not the right time. It had to be somewhere private. Somewhere they could be alone. Regardless of what Ward had said, this was more than just a kiss to her. This was the beginning of something real.

"Skye?" Jemma called out, softly. There was a small smile on her lips when Skye blinked twice, snapping herself out of her daze. "Are you alright?"

Skye swallowed hard then cleared her throat. "Yeah, I-I'm fine." She smiled brightly at her. "Ready for all this laser tag excitement?"

Jemma chuckled. "I've never played before." She rested her hands on Skye's shoulders. "But, I'm willing to try anything once. Twice if I like it." Her smile broadened and a small flush of pink filled her cheeks.

Skye's smile mirrored hers. "That's good to know." She reached up, taking Jemma's hand from her shoulders and intertwining their fingers. "Come on. I'll make sure to take my time explaining the rules and how to use the gun." She flashed a mischievous look. "It's a little unfair if I find and beat you too quickly. You need to be able to put up some sort of defense."

Jemma dropped her jaw pretending to be insulted. "Oh, you're going to pay for that." she replied, nudging Skye playfully as they walked over to join the others.

Skye could hear the sounds of buzzers going off. She laughed when Ward cursed loudly and sat down on the floor waiting for his sensor to reset. It was his birthday so he was the main target. She could have sworn he had gotten shot at least seven times in the last twenty minutes.

She slunk around the walls, ducking behind pillars and into corners. Her eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness. She learned quickly how to hide in the shadows and blend into the walls when she heard players running in her direction. There was only one player she was concerned with finding and that player was Jemma.

Skye had already memorized the sound of Jemma's footsteps in gym class. She had heard her run back and forth so many times, it was pretty much burned into her brain. She made sure to glance in Jemma's direction when her vest lit up so the pattern on it was perfectly etched into her memory.

Skye had formulated a plan. She was going to find Jemma and she was going to kiss her. She couldn't wait any longer. She needed to feel Jemma's lips against hers. Her fingers caressing her skin while Jemma's tangled in her hair. Their bodies pressed together against the dark walls as they fell into a moment of just being one with each other.

Skye snapped from her daze quickly when the sound of a familiar laugh filled the small space next to her. She heard the footsteps and quickly lowered her gun and leaned it against the wall behind her. She waited in the shadows and could feel her stomach knot and twist with anticipation. She took in a deep breath, almost forgetting to release it. She bounced nervously on her heels as Jemma's footsteps came closer and faster.

Without another thought, Skye reached out, timing it perfectly and pulled Jemma into the dark corner. Jemma screeched when her back hit the wall. She squinted trying to adjust to the darkest space in the room as her free hand raised and touched Skye's cheek. Her fingers blindly traced Skye's face, roaming over her jaw line and crossing lightly over her bottom lip which caused Skye to shutter.

"Skye?" Jemma questioned, pulling her hand back slowly.

Skye chuckled at the confused tone. "Of course it's me. Who else would it be?" She knew Jemma could barely see her, but she raised an eyebrow, suspiciously. "Did you think it was Fitz? Is there something I need to know about you two?" The slap on the shoulder came quickly and Skye released a small playful whine. "Ow."

"You deserved that." Jemma scolded, her eyes finally adjusting and allowing her to see the outlines of the other girls face. "Is everything alright? Why did you pull me out of the game?"

"Well, Jem, I just—well, I wanted to—" she stammered, growling internally at her inability to form a coherent sentence. She lowered her head for a moment, sighing heavily.

Jemma felt Skye's hair hit her face and realized she must no longer be looking at her. She placed her finger under Skye's chin, lifting her attention back to her. "Skye, sweetheart, what is it? What did you want to do?"

"This." Skye whispered as she leaned in and pressed her lips to Jemma's.

She was thankful that she remembered every detail of Jemma's beautiful face. Her lips connected perfectly with the other girls and she smiled when she heard the surprised squeak escape Jemma's throat. It only took a second for Jemma to kiss her back. Her hand sliding over Skye's shoulder and tangling in her hair. Skye gripped her waist, pushing her body against Jemma's to be impossibly closer to her.

It was everything she hoped for. Jemma's lips were soft and perfect. Her mouth moved in perfect sync with Skye's. The sounds of buzzers and lasers were going off in every direction and Skye wasn't sure if it was the game or her brain exploding from the sensation of Jemma's kisses. It wasn't until the sound of a closer buzz and the feel of her vest vibrating that Skye remembered where they were and what they were doing.

Jemma smiled against her lips. "Gotcha." she muttered, kissing Skye softly one more time before slowly pulling away with a wicked grin.

Skye licked her lips, savoring the taste of Jemma's lip gloss as she looked down at her vest. Her lights were off and there was a blinking in front as it counted down until reset. She looked back at Jemma with wide eyes. "You cheated." she said, stepping back into Jemma's personal space. "I was distracted and you shot me."

"All's fair in dating and war." Jemma chuckled. Her breath hitched when Skye leaned into her. She could feel her breath on her lips and was grateful for the darkness because it hid the blush she could feel making its way up her neck and filling her cheeks. "You know, it took you long enough to kiss me."

Skye smiled, pressing a small kiss to the tip of her nose. "I was waiting for the right moment."

"And you thought this was it?"

Skye made a face. "Except for you shooting me, I'm pretty sure it was."

Jemma giggled, her fingertips brushed lightly against Skye's jawline. "Will you ever forgive me?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"How the rest of the game plays out." Skye joked, wrapping her arms around Jemma's waist.

Jemma's teeth grazed her bottom lip as she dropped her gun. She wrapped her arms around Skye's neck. She pushed herself up on her toes so her lips were hovering close to the other girls. "I surrender." she whispered, brushing her lips lightly against Skye's before kissing her fully once again….