Chapter Text
"A little to the left, May. That's right, just over a little bit- okay right there, yeah, right there. Perfect," Agent Phil Coulson instructed his co-worker and friend as she teetered on the edge of a step-ladder, a piece of mistletoe clutched in one hand, a hammer in the other.
The two SHIELD agents were in the process of decorating the Bus for the holidays - "decking the halls" as it were - and as far as Phil was concerned, symmetry was next to godliness. Symmetry was balance, and he liked balance. So did Melinda May, which was one of the reasons they worked so well together.
It seemed like whenever one of them was out of balance, the other one was always there to shift the equilibrium just so, allowing them the chance to level out; to get their feet beneath them again. Or to catch them if they should fall. Emotionally, at least.
Physically, Phil was in the best shape of his life, but even with his recent gold star health assessment, he wasn't fast enough to steady the step ladder before May toppled off of it and onto the pile of decoration supplies. He did, however, manage to catch the hammer she'd been holding before it could land an unpleasant blow atop her head.
"Oh!" he half cried, half squeaked, glancing around almost in a panic. May wasn't moving, or swearing, and that frightened him almost as much as the prospect of explaining to the kids why their cardboard cut-outs of Rudolph were suddenly destroyed.
Dropping the hammer by his feet, he pulled the collapsed step-stool off his friend, kneeling down next to her to check for a pulse. Death by mistletoe was so not going to go over well with SHIELD. They were already giving them more leeway than they felt they aught to when it came to their extracurricular activities.
"Agent May, Melinda... Come on. It was four feet, not four stories." Coulson brushed aside some of the dark hair covering the agents face, only to reveal that she was, in fact, awake. Awake and laughing.
"God, Phil, you should have heard the noise you made," she smirked, allowing him to help her into a sitting position. Streamers and plastic ribbons crunched beneath them as they shifted.
Coulson pressed a tentative hand to May's forehead where he could see the beginnings of a small bruise. "Well, you should have seen how ridiculous you looked, flapping your arms as if that would stop you from falling," he replied.
May swatted at his hand, wincing as she felt the bruising flesh herself. "Glad we took our holiday photos yesterday," she mused.
"Sure, because the kids aren't going to freak out that you're hurt just because the holiday cards are already sent," he rolled his eyes as he pulled himself to his feet, outstretching his arm to help her get to her own.
"I'll just tell them Daddy pushed me and will let you handle it."
Coulson's eyes grew wide at the threat. "You wouldn't."
May scoffed, waving away his concern as if he were crazy to have thought she would pin this on him. "What, and ruin Christmas? No thank you."
"Christmas is ruined?"
Both senior agents froze at the small voice coming from behind them, and they slowly turned to find Skye standing there with the saddest expression they'd ever seen. And Skye was notorious for her 'creys faces'.
The not quite junior agent had her stuffed reindeer, Kristoff, clutched tightly in her arms as her eyes darted back and forth between her parents. Christmas couldn't be ruined! This was the first time she'd had a real family to spend the holidays with!
"Oh no, no sweetheart, Christmas isn't ruined," Coulson was quick to assure her, crossing the room and taking the trembling girl into his arms.
Skye buried her face into her Daddy's neck as she clutched his shirt with the hand not holding Kristoff.
"Your Momma and I promised you guys that nothing would stop us from having the best Christmas ever, remember?"
Skye nodded slowly, her face still pressed into Coulson's neck as she sniffled.
"And do you know why it's going to be the best Christmas ever?" May asked, having come up to the duo and begun rubbing gentle circles on the girl's back.
Skye pulled her face away at this, turning her body so she was pressed into the crook of her Daddy's arm as she looked at her Mom. "Because it's our first Christmas together, as a family," she explained, calming down some.
May and Coulson shared a look and a smile before nodding in sync.
"That's right sweetheart, and not Fury, or the Avengers, or the world ending is going to change that," Coulson explained with a kiss to her temple.
May was about to add to this when a shout from the other side of the room cut her off.
"Oh no! The decorations! Christmas is ruined!!"