#directormelindamay

Well, technically it was John complaining originally, but the all had been drinking, bemoaning the fact that they had elected to remain at the academy for the holidays.

One thing had led to another, and soon enough Victoria took up the helm, going on and on about how it wasn't properly going to be Christmas since it didn't snow in California (among many other problems).

"We don't even have a chimney," she had said in this lofty and betrayed tone, as though that was one the thing that would ruin their Christmas, the fact that the SHIELD Academy was not equipped with a proper chimney. 

Which was why Christmas Eve, Melinda was scaling the walls of the SHEILD Academy dorms, dressed in a 'slightly slutty' (Maria's word's not hers) Santa costume that had been, expertly decorated (Jasper's words and handiwork) with chimney soot. 

Really it was the principal of not being able to back down from a challenge, unspoken or not, that led her to this, but she was going to blame Victoria.

She opened the dorm window from the outside, before slipping into her girlfriend's dorm room, and Victoria who had been lounging on her bed pretending to be studying, didn't even both to get up into some semblance of those defensive positions that their training had taught them, instead just look up at the window and says, "what the fuck are you wearing?"

"You're supposed to be surprised."

"Somebody might have ruined the surprise accidentally, though they didn't meant that you'd be dressed as a dirty Ms. Claus," she says, somehow making the word dirty sound like an insult and the biggest innuendo in the world.

Victoria Hand really was something special. 

"It's soot," Melinda says, "from the chimney."

It takes her a second before it all clicks, and suddenly she's laughing, "you mean the chimney that we don't have?"

"That would be it."

“Uh, yeah,” Gina replies drawing the words out, so that they had eight more syllables than what was strictly necessary.

Maybe the problem here was that Gina didn’t understand the situation, yes- that had to be it, so Amy helpfully supplies, “and there’s a Christmas tree on your desk.”

Gina nods again, “isn’t it nice?”

“Yes, but-“

“This kind old woman was giving it away for free, and I never turn down free stuff.”

Well, at least that explained where the tree came from. Though a small part of Amy wondered what exactly ‘kind old woman’ meant in Gina speak. She elected not to ask about that and instead just stared down the fake green plant currently adorning the other woman’s desk.

“It’s festive,” Gina says, “makes station a bit less frowny!”

Amy nods her head, before reluctantly saying, “you know you’re supposed to decorate them.”

And that’s how she gets roped into decorating a Christmas tree that isn’t even hers, she can only hope that the Captain likes it- at least then there will be something good to come out of this. (Other than her apparent new found ‘friendship’ with Gina – though how long that will last even she cannot say.)

Still, her sense of dread and dismay is all but alleviated until, when they finish by putting a star on top of the tree, Gina turns to her and says, “the best part is, now you have to get me nine days’ worth of gifts!”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not-“