Meanwhile, Simmons

"Was it successful?" Coulson said. "It sounded like you were making good progress with the high-interest artifacts."

"Yes sir!" Simmons said.

Okay, why did everything coming out of her mouth sound so ****? She really didn't mean it to happen. Maybe she was trying too hard but, well, what was she meant to do? Not try?

"No hiccups?" May said, words punctuated by a distant yelp from Daisy. Simmons flushed.

"Daisy's buttocks aside, no surprises at all," Simmons said.

Wait, no, that didn't sound right. May was giving her a look. Things were rarely going well when Agent May needed to pull out the stare.

"I transmitted everything I was asked for," Simmons said. "And noted a few other objects of interest. I think we performed within mission parameters, even with the unexpected situation."

"Yeah, about the... situation," Coulson said delicately.

(There was the sound of a frantic, muffled voice cursing at an automatic door).

Simmons faltered. Agent Johnson decided to take off all of her clothes because she was bored and thought it would be fun. She did remember Daisy's evident embarrassment about the whole situation, and revealing that to May and Coulson probably wouldn't follow her wishes.

"I'll write all about it in my report," Simmons said.

Had she waited too long to respond? She wasn't sure. Time slowed to a crawl under May's look.

"Can I get to writing it?" Simmons said.

"Sure," Coulson said. "Don't let me get in your way."

Simmons smiled in what she hoped was a natural manner, and brushed past to the nearest temporary quarters. Everything was on the same network, she could write and upload anywhere.

There were small personal quarters when they were off-base; she had a bed, a chair and a desk, along with a door. Quickly, Simmons shut herself in, locked it to avoid any interruptions, and turned her attention to the keyboard. Debriefings were always fun for her. They let her get her thoughts in order after a more hectic mission, and let her relive the simplicity of some others.

She wasn't sure which this was. Still, she was smiling happily as she wrote the normal intro. Her mission before heading out to the storehouse, then arriving, and running into Daisy.

Ah. 'Agent Johnson was suffering a minor wardrobe malfunction.' That was probably the most diplomatic way of putting it; there was no point hiding that it had happened now that Coulson and May had a very clear eyeful of it happening.

Which she had to justify.

Because she thought it would spice up the job. Simmons' cheeks went pink. That was... such a Daisy thing to do, ill-advised shenanigans with no clear benefit whatsoever. What was more exciting than inventory? Especially in a site like that, so many old mysteries!

And even if she wasn't doing anything, how would nudity help? That was... That was just silly.

Simmons laughed to herself. Then paused. Then stared at the page, and at her locked door.

And why couldn't she stop thinking about it?

Well, Simmons reasoned, she was a scientist. If something didn't make sense to her, she couldn't just brush past it. How would she ever get anything done then? If something baffled her, she wanted to understand it. Experiment.

She looked again at the lock on her door.

Well.

Simmons swallowed, blushed, and pulled off her top. It wasn't like she'd been all that comfortable in the tank top anyway; it had just been her only option after losing her other shirt.

And she'd undressed in her room before, even in temporary quarters like this. Of course she had to change sometimes. There was nothing new about this, nothing weird.

She slid off her pants, and undid her bra, and started giggling.

Okay, this was very unusual. It shouldn't have been, but the context, the fact she wasn't just changing, it made it feel new. She carefully put all her clothes close at hand, adding her panties to the pile, and did what she felt Daisy ought to have done and quickly looked around for any strange machines that might in any way limit her access to them again.

Then, once more double-checking the lock, a very naked Simmons sat back down at her desk. Just until she finished the report, she told herself. Just to see what it was like. Then she could dress, content in the knowledge she'd explored this as much as she needed to.

There was a knock at Daisy's door. Daisy groaned and buried her head under her pillow. She had on a sturdy pair of boots, a loose shirt, and an old pair of jeans. Naturally enough, there hadn't exactly been spare underwear hanging around. Even though she was technically decent for the trip back to base, and could dress there, she couldn't face looking anyone in the eye for the foreseeable future.

First Coulson and May, then everyone onboard the jet she'd run into on the way. Some of them were gossips. Word of this would be everywhere by tomorrow.

Maybe she could fake her ****, come back with reconstructive surgery? She worked for a crazy undercover organization, anything was possible.

Another knock.

"Go away!" Daisy said.

"It's me!" Simmons' voice came through. "Can we talk?"

Ah yes. Simmons, who'd seen more of her than anyone else. Daisy closed her eyes, and when Jemma knocked again, reluctantly sat up to let her in.

The door slid open and closed. Jemma's outfit seemed oddly scruffy, less prim than Daisy usually expected from her, and she seemed almost like she was vibrating.

"How are you feeling?" Simmons said.

"Has the earth ever literally opened up and swallowed someone?" Daisy said. "Weirder things seem to have happened. if you could arrange that, it'd be great."

"Oh, don't be so grim," Simmons said. "You have a lovely posterior, nothing to be ashamed of."

"Please never talk about my butt again," Daisy said.

"In my mission report, I said you undressed after the rain," Simmons said. "If you wanted to say the same in yours."

"Oh," Daisy said. Her eyes went wide. "Well, thanks."

"How did it feel?" Simmons said.

Daisy blinked. It was getting hard to keep up with the topic shifts; Simmons was definitely buzzing about something.

"Embarrassing. Humiliating. Mortifying. Take your pick," Daisy said. "I just ran naked in front of everyone, Simmons. Everyone."

"Well, not quite everyone," Simmons said, then shook her head. "No, not the point, though you really need to stop overusing hyperbole. I mean before, when I hadn't even arrived yet, and you were taking everything off."

"Simmons?" Daisy said.

"Did you enjoy it?" Simmons said. "I mean, I assume you must have, if you stayed doing it."

Daisy's face went hot.

"I am not having this discussion," Daisy said, looking away. Simmons hopped in closer.

"No, wait!"

"I am not talking about whether I- whether I liked being naked," Daisy said. "That's not..."

"I wrote my report naked," Simmons said, suddenly whispering.

Daisy blinked.

"Just now, I mean," Simmons said. "It was... remarkably exhilarating."

Daisy stared. Simmons blushed.

"Daisy?" Simmons said.

"Um. Right, sorry, caught me off-guard," Daisy said. She hesitated. "I... guess. It was kinda fun. Sort of a thrill to get away with it."

"Would you want to do it again?" Simmons said.

Simmons stared at her intently. Daisy's eyes widened.

"Not the seen-by-everyone bit," Simmons said quickly. "In strictly controlled, carefully managed environments with no chance of anyone expected walking in, and no loss of access to our clothes. In that kind of setting, um, would you ever..."

At that point Simmons' own blush seemed to be too much for her. Her voice trailed off, and Daisy faltered.

Well, before the ice machine, before Simmons, and the whole walk back through the quinjet. If she could be sure that would never happen again, if it was only about the first stretch of time she'd spent by herself.

"I guess," Daisy said hesitantly. Her cheeks burned. "Maybe. If you were sure there was a totally safe way."

"We're two smart girls! I'm sure we can find some time that couldn't possibly go wrong," Simmons said.