DISCLAIMER: The characters herein are used without permission. No infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There isn't enough Skimmons fics so I decided to pitch in.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To kc_sg27[at]yahoo.com.au
Tomorrow
By KC
The night after Jemma Simmons had jumped out of the plane was a difficult one for Skye. It was the moment Jemma had jumped that the hacktivist realised the she felt more for Jemma than friendship. When Skye hugged her after she was hit with just how deep those feeling ran.
And now she couldn't sleep. Skye saw Jemma's brave and stupid sacrifice in her head over and over, and no amount of hacking random websites could distract her. She had finally decided to try and sleep, only to wake up less than an hour later crying out for her friend.
She got up, changed, and then went down to the hanger to practice with the punching bag. Even 30 minutes of hard and quick jabs at the defenceless thing couldn't abate the emotions coursing through her. She pulled off the gloves and threw them in frustration. They thudded against the bulkhead, causing a startled squeak from the person sitting on the bottom step of the spiral staircase.
Skye whipped her head up and saw Jemma. She gasped, "Wh-what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Jemma responded in her perfectly crafted accent.
Skye shrugged non-committedly. "Couldn't sleep."
Jemma nodded in understanding, "Me either."
Skye wiped the sweat off her brow. She walked over and picked up the gloves. "Sorry about that."
Jemma gave a small smile and a shrug.
After putting the gloves away in the storage locker along the hanger wall Skye sat next to the scientist on the step. As the stair was narrow their shoulders touched. They sat there for some time, lost in their thoughts and the ever-present hum of the engines.
Finally Jemma spoke, "I… I was having nightmares. About the virus." She took a breath and slightly leant closer to Skye. "It made it hard to sleep."
Skye nodded, "I can relate."
"You were having bad dreams too?"
"Mhmm."
"What were yours about?"
Skye froze, "Um… well… I…" She let out a puff of breath. "You kept jumping out of the plane…" She finished timidly.
Jemma placed her hand on Skye's knee. "I'm sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing."
Skyep's mouth twitched up at the touch, and before she could question it she covered Jemma's hand with her own. "It's ok. I understand. It's just…" Skye didn't know what to say. It would be easier to write a program and install it on the lab computer that made a floating heart balloon everything the mouse was clicked. Face-to-face interaction was never her strong suit. "I care. About you. A lot." Skye sighed. "And now I know the fear and pain of losing you I can't think of anything else."
"Oh," Jemma uttered. "I can understand why you can't sleep then."
Skye looked up at the other woman, "You can?"
Jemma nodded and placed her other hand over Skye's that was still on hers. "I know that fear as well."
"You do?" There was traces of hope and worry in her tone.
"Yes," Jemma confirmed. "Every time you go into the field."
Dozens of unspoken questions swirled in the air between them. Skye placed her remaining hand on the pile and smiled nervously. Extremely confident in their own fields, this new uncertainly overwhelmed them both. The quiet eventually got the better of Skye, who was used to noise and motion at all times. Throwing caution to the wind, she leant forward until her lips were almost touching Jemma's.
Jemma instinctively shut her eyes and closed that last distance. The kiss was light and soft, and full of hope. It was quick, but the second was longer, and the third longer again.
They shared a few more shy kisses before Skye pulled back. She rested her forehead against Jemma's and enjoyed the intimate moment. "As much as I hate to say this, we should probably try and get some sleep. Who knows what crazy stuff will happen tomorrow."
Jemma slowly sat up straight, "Yes, I agree."
"But, um…" Skye blushed, "can we do this again?"
Now it was Jemma's turn to go red. "I would like that very much."
"Good," Skye grinned. "I'm glad."
Jemma returned the smile.
They stood, a little awkward because they still held their hands together.
"So, tomorrow then?" Skye asked.
"Tomorrow."
The End