Drabble 30: New Year's Wishes… And Maybe Kisses?

A/N: Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a good holiday season, and I'm sorry it took me so long to update! I've been busier than I thought I would be this week. Anyway, here's the next drabble! Read and review!

"Why are we doing this again?" Fitz asked.

"You guys need to do something normal. We haven't had much fun lately, and frankly I'm worried about you." Coulson said.

"You really don't have to worry, sir." Simmons said.

"Maybe not." He responded. "But I want to do it anyway. Can you two handle the lighting and music?"

"Of course!" They said.

Coulson smiled. "Great. I'll see you there, then." He started to walk away and then stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Oh, I almost forgot. You have to dress up."

Fitz looked at Simmons and groaned, and Coulson walked away with a smile.

"I guess I should go pick out something to wear." Simmons said.

Fitz nodded. "Yeah, me too."

"Meet back in the lab in ten minutes?"

"Definitely."

It took Fitz-Simmons about twenty minutes to figure out which lights to set up and actually do it. The music was even simpler, taking about ten minutes as they connected speakers and set up a playlist.

The Playground had plenty of open space; certainly enough for the small team to have a dance. Fitz turned on the soft lights at eight, turning off the blaringly bright white lights that were usually on and setting the room in a bright sort of twilight. He walked around and, deciding it was too dark, set the soft lights to shine a little brighter. He walked around the room again for another inspection and then nodded. It was perfect.

He looked to where Jemma was fiddling with the sound system and smiled when she met his glance.

He had just thought about walking over to her when Coulson entered the room, backwards because of the folding table he was carrying with Hunter. Fitz decided to go and help them instead of talking with Jemma. They had all night to talk, right?

Coulson and Hunter set the folding table against the wall.

"How can I help?" Fitz asked.

Coulson looked at him and shook his head. "Go get dressed, Fitz. We've got this covered."

"Don't you have to get dressed-?" The question faded before it could finish as Fitz looked at the other two men. Coulson was dressed in his typical black suit, which wasn't surprising. But Hunter had cleaned up, and was wearing black pants that looked suspiciously like jeans and dress shoes, and a white dress shirt rolled up to the elbows, with the collar loose. It wasn't much, but Fitz could tell that was Hunter's party gear. "Fine." He said. "I'll be right back."

Coulson nodded approvingly, and then looked over to Simmons. "Simmons!" he called.

She looked up when she heard her name and stopped inspecting the sound system. "Yes sir?"

"You go get changed too." He said. "You've done your part of setting up."

She smiled and started walking over towards Coulson, Hunter, and Fitz. "You look nice, Hunter." She said.

Hunter pulled at his already loose collar and half-smiled. "Thanks."

Fitz walked with Simmons into the hallway and towards their rooms. "The lights looked great." She said after a minute of silence.

"Yeah, I think they worked out well. Is the playlist set?"

"A combination of fast and slow songs, set on shuffle." She said.

They reached her room first and said a temporary goodbye as they each went to change. Simmons didn't know why that brief walk had been so awkward, but it had. It was almost like that period right after her return from HYDRA, when they hadn't known what to say to each other. What confused her was that they had been getting along great for a while now. Maybe they were just tired, or dreading the dance.

She hadn't gone to a dance in a long time. Coulson insisted on celebrating New Year's with a party for the team, taking the form of a dance. He said that with the stress of rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. and fighting HYDRA, it would help the team re-group and relieve them of anything troubling, if only for a night. And though it had been a few days since the events of the underground city, morale wasn't lifting. If anything it seemed to be falling even more. So Coulson proposed a party, to help.

It was a good idea, she had to admit. But she knew that if Coulson tried to force the team to relax too much, it would only stress them out more. She sighed and started looking through her closet, trying to find the right outfit. She had failed to find one earlier, and guessed Fitz had too.

It took her ten minutes, but she was happy enough with her decision. She wore a red top that was longer than a typical shirt, cutting off by her thighs. She couldn't quite bring herself to call it a dress. Under that she had black leggings and small black flats. The top had a black belt around the middle. It was something she had bought with Skye a few days before, and she found that she liked it a lot. Her hair she curled slightly and put into a ponytail, leaving out a few strands on either side.

She was ready.

Fitz looked at his reflection in the mirror and took a deep breath. He was nervous, and he couldn't place exactly why. It was New Year's Eve, and they had a party to go to. Usually that would make him nervous, but it was with his friends and teammates, so that wasn't it. He washed his face and dried it with a hand towel, and then it hit him. He was nervous he was slipping back into his old routine with Jemma; that their tension-filled walk to their rooms would become normal again. He couldn't stand it if it did.

It had taken him some time to realize that she hadn't left to hurt him, and to forgive her. But they had been doing so well recently! He shook his head and looked into the mirror again. It was just a fluke, he told himself. They had both been distracted, that was all.

He dressed in khaki colored slacks and dark brown dress shoes, with a middle-shaded blue button down shirt. He decided not to wear a tie. His hair he fingered through with a bit of a smoothening solution, and then he put on the smallest amount of cologne, a bottle Jemma had bought him before convincing him to join this team. It had been given to soften him up to the idea, and he had quickly grown fond of it. Now it was starting to run out, so he used it sparingly. But tonight was a special occasion, and he knew Jemma liked it as much as he did.

He left his room and started walking towards the area he had started setting up in. As worried as he had been only minutes before about his relationship with Jemma, one thought kept returning to his mind, no matter how hard he tried to force it back. He wanted to kiss her at midnight. This was one of the few opportunities where he could do that without changing their relationship, taking them that step beyond friendship. Even as he thought it he wished he didn't, knew how inappropriate it was. But he felt a little flutter in his chest when he thought of kissing her, one that he couldn't force away.

So he let himself hope that they would kiss at midnight. He hoped, but he knew he wouldn't ask her. That he would leave to her.

Fitz entered the room and saw that he was the first one to arrive, besides Hunter and Coulson. He walked over to them with a grin.

"Looking sharp, Fitz." Coulson said.

"Thank you sir."

Fitz grabbed a paper cup and scooped himself a cup of punch. "Glad to see that you dressed up, Coulson."

Hunter raised an eyebrow for a second and then nodded slyly at him, with obvious approval. Coulson laughed.

"Who do you think will be last to show up?" Hunter asked.

Coulson looked at him for a second, thinking. "It would be inappropriate for me to answer that as the leader of this team. But we're off the clock, so…" he smiled a bit. "My guess is Skye."

Hunter smirked. "It's a good guess. It's wrong, but a good shot."

"Well who do you think, then?" Fitz asked.

"Bobbi always takes her sweet time preparing for these things. Just watch. By the time she gets here we'll be well into the dance."

"You're on." Coulson said.

So they watched and waited for the girls to arrive. Jemma came first, as usual. She was always on time, unless something was wrong. But Bobbi and Skye came in together, ten minutes late… something they hadn't planned on. Fitz wasn't there to see his friends' reactions, though. He had walked over to Jemma as soon as she walked in, offering her a cup of punch.

She was wearing something she usually didn't, so his attention was grabbed by her apparel immediately. It looked nice on her. He realized he had stopped moving and was staring at her, so he smiled and spoke. "You look really nice."

"You do too." She said, inspecting him. "I love that color on you."

He handed her the cup and she took it, drinking some right away. He had been nervous, but the tension they had had before seemed to be gone now. This was awkward because it was a situation they weren't exactly used to.

"Care to dance?" she asked him.

When she saw Fitz, she almost stopped like he did, to stare. It was amazing how a change of clothes affected your view of a person. It certainly made it a lot harder to hide feelings; especially with someone who knew you almost better than you knew yourself.

She was able to keep moving and look at him like she normally did. But she felt something stir in her. So she asked him to dance.

The first song just happened to be a slow song. She moved herself closer to him after they set down their cups. It was no big deal. They had slow-danced before, though not very often. He held onto her with comforting hands, and she put her head on his shoulder as they swayed back and forth. She breathed in, and then took in a small breath with shock as she realized something. He was wearing her cologne.

That little bottle she had bought him before they joined the team. Her favorite scent on him.

She couldn't believe he still had it. She remembered the first time he had put it on, and smiled. It was such a simple thing to do, but she felt special to think he had kept it this long. It meant he had saved it.

Which meant he liked it.

Their song ended and a fast one started, so she separated from him.

It was nine o'clock when the party officially started. Simmons needed to forget her confused feelings and just have fun, like Coulson told them to. She grinned at Fitz and started dancing to the fast music, moving her limbs in no defined way.

He raised an eyebrow at her and then laughed. She laughed with him, and felt her mind clear. This was the easy part. She could always get along with Fitz and have a good time. It was the most natural thing in the world.

From that point on the night passed pretty quickly for Fitz-Simmons. They danced like no one was watching, and just let themselves have fun. They danced slow songs as well as fast, and both noticed that their flow seemed to be back. It was as if nothing had changed between them.

They separated a few times in the night, to mingle with the others. Fitz looked for Mack, but the man never showed up. Coulson said it was because he wanted space, after what happened in the underground city. Mack was ashamed of himself, though everyone else on the team knew he never meant to hurt anyone. He hadn't been in control of himself.

Skye had changed. No one really knew how much because she kept isolating herself from them, but tonight they saw traces of her old self. Simmons kept going back to her after she sent her away, each time bringing her friend a little more into herself. But Skye refused to mingle for long, so Simmons kept returning to Fitz.

Coulson was the one to save the day for Skye, but no one else really noticed. With five minutes till midnight he walked over to her, to where she was standing with her arms crossed against the wall. She didn't look mad. Instead she seemed lost, something he hadn't seen in her in some time.

"What's up AC?" she asked, smirking.

He knew she was trying to show him that she was fine, but it wasn't working. He could see it in her eyes that she wasn't. He leaned against the wall next to her. "I'm here for you." He said. "I know everything's happening fast, and you think you need to sort some things out by yourself, but you don't have to be alone. Not unless you want to."

She had looked down while he was speaking, and when she looked back up he saw that she was struggling against tears. "I can't be around them." She said quietly. "I don't know what sort of changes I've been through, so I don't know that I can control anything that happens."

"Skye." Coulson said. "You never need to be alone. Everyone on this team wants to help you. You just have to let us."

The countdown to midnight started, signaled by a single beep. Ten seconds later there was another beep, this one louder and longer.

"Happy New Year, Skye." He said. He moved aside her hair and kissed her cheek, then started to walk away.

She looked at him before he walked away and found herself smiling at his fatherly gesture. It was a new year. Maybe she needed a fresh start with her team.

Bobbi and Hunter were nowhere to be found at the party site. Instead, they were in the hallway outside, locked against each other.

Bobbi kissed his cheek and ran one hand along his arm. Hunter held her close and moved his other hand through her hair. Bobbi smiled against him and moved her lips, murmuring something.

Hunter sighed and moved her away from him, just a bit. "What did you say?"

She could hear the regret in his tone at their separation, and smiled contentedly. "I said we have to stop doing this."

"It's only the third time. No harm yet."

She laughed. "Yet being the operative word."

"Relax, Bobbi. It's a party tonight. We should be drunk by now. I'd say we're being downright angelic compared to our usual party standard."

She kissed him softly on the cheek again, tracing her lips from cheek to the other cheek, teasing him. "We're still at work."

"We're always at work. We literally live where we work."

They heard a beep inside. "Then maybe you're right." Bobbi said, moving her hand down his neck and onto his chest. "This is just one night."

"We have a whole new year ahead of us." He pointed out.

There was another beep, this one longer and louder. He pulled her close again and started kissing her, only stopping to say one more thing. "We have to keep doing this."

She laughed again, the sound muffled as their lips crashed together. They were happy that way.

May didn't go to Coulson's party. Not right away. Instead she sat in her room, reading and thinking. She had been more shaken up than she had shown after the events in that underground city. So she stayed in her room for a while, just to get complete control of herself again. Coulson had told everyone they had to go to the party. He never said for how long.

After an hour she felt better, and decided to try to meditate, just to place a tighter seal on her emotions. But sometimes meditation isn't good enough. After a failed attempt for ten minutes she got up and put on a flight suit. If peace wouldn't work, action would. She decided to use the flight simulator on the Playground. It had all the benefits of other simulators, including the feeling of hitting turbulence. But this simulator also included enemies. Which required greater action on the part of the pilot.

She could easily work up a sweat using this machine. It was like a video game, except much more interactive. Before she knew it an hour had passed. With it had gone the last of her stresses from the past few days, at least temporarily.

She turned it off and sat back in her chair, recovering her breath. She supposed she should go to the party, but she also knew that no one would like it if she showed up like she was now. So she walked back to her room, grabbed fresh clothes, and took a nice warm shower. The shower topped off the evening, she thought. She felt restored, and ready for whatever new challenge awaited her.

And May entered the party.

But she had been wrong about what topped off her evening. No, that was seeing her team together. Seeing Bobbi and Hunter walk out of the room together, hands linked and having eyes only for each other. Seeing Fitz and Simmons dance and laugh together, so close it made her smile. And she did. Maybe she was just in a good mood.

Coulson was also watching the action, standing on the edge and drinking his punch, dancing when he thought no one was looking.

Skye was in a spot May usually frequented: the shadows. The girl was standing by herself, lost in her own thoughts. May noticed that she seemed even more withdrawn than the day before. It had been a short while since the city events, and Skye had started isolating herself.

May walked towards her, leaning against the wall next to the girl. It took a minute for Skye to realize May was next to her. Not a good sign.

"Shouldn't you be dancing?" May asked.

"I don't really feel like it." Skye said. "I'm good here."

May nodded and was quiet for a minute. "Have you tried just punching something?" she blurted out.

Skye looked at her, confused. "What?"

May smirked. At least it was some sort of reaction. "It helps calm you. If you're feeling too emotional, just be active enough to let it out that way."

"I'll remember that from now on." Skye said.

May gave her a soft smile. "It'll be okay."

Skye looked at her. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, but I just need to be alone right now."

May nodded and walked away. She walked to the background, where she could watch her team and enjoy herself through them. And it was the best night she'd had in a while.

Simmons laughed as she danced with Fitz. He twirled her about and jumped up and down, and she jumped too. It was wonderful, transitioning from their nonsensical but wonderful fast dances to their close and personal slow dances. The time flew by, and she could tell Fitz was enjoying himself as much as she was. They seemed to literally dance the night away. Coulson had been right to force them to have a party.

Just as they were finishing a slow song she heard the beep. The one she had programmed to warn them when they had ten seconds till midnight. He had just spun her out, and she moved back to him slowly, turning to face him.

She was aware of the seconds ticking away, the short time they had until midnight. And she was very aware of how close she was to Fitz. She felt it in her entire body, and it felt good. She had to tell him that somehow.

The beep sounded, the one signifying the start of the New Year. She looked at Fitz and met his blue eyes, his wonderful blue eyes. He just stared back at her, seeing what she would do. She realized he wasn't saying no. He was leaving it up to her.

So she decided.

And it was pretty much the best kiss she'd ever had.