Skye jerked slightly as she felt the ribbons at her back being cinched together ever tighter. It wasn't painful as such, just an unfamiliar sensation – one, she begrudgingly admitted, that she could get used to. There was no mirror in the dressing room, so she had no idea what she would look like by the time the shop attendant finished securing her into the delicate gown she was currently trying on. It didn't really matter though, because for the first time in... Hell, maybe the first time ever, Skye felt beautiful.

Sure, she wore a light layer of make-up every day, but that was about it. She could never be bothered with overly-girly clothes, nor did she have the time (or skill) to style her hair each morning; so, for a long time now, she had lived a life of practicality. Which, as it turned out, had been a blessing in disguise considering there's no way in hell she would have been able to do the kind of work she was now doing with S.H.I.E.L.D. in a wardrobe of skirts and frilly dresses.

"All done! Ready to see how gorgeous you look?"

Skye was pulled from her thoughts by the excited announcement of the shop attendant. Skye smiled at her, and gingerly moved towards the dressing room door. "Here goes nothing" she mumbled, and took a deep, reassuring breath in an attempt to prepare herself for whatever sight she was about to be confronted with. Wait. Was she nervous? No. That was ridiculous, right?

"Hurry up, Skye! I want to see!" She heard Simmons eager voice from outside the thin walls of the dressing room.

Knowing she couldn't put it off any longer, Skye closed her hand around the door knob and emerged from the tiny space. Simmons was waiting for her a few steps from the door with a huge smile on her face; a smile that faded into awe as soon as she saw Skye. Seeing this, Skye started to panic. "What?" she demanded. "Is it that bad?!"

The young scientist quickly broke out of her haze, and rushed to reassure her. "No, no, it's not that" Skye relaxed slightly, some of the tension visibly leaving her body – only to be replaced by confusion. "Then what?" she questioned.

"You look...absolutely amazing" Jemma finally finished. Skye was completely taken aback by this, and found herself lost for words; something that didn't happen very often. Simmons chuckled slightly, and extended a hand out to her friend, "Come on, why don't you see for yourself?"

Slowly, Simmons led Skye to the wall of mirrors waiting ominously in the corner of the room; Skye, feeling her earlier sense of trepidation returning, kept her eyes keenly focused on the ground; partly to stop herself from tripping over, and partly to avoid having to see what she looked like. They reached the mirrors, and Skye stepped up onto the small podium, lifting the flowing skirts of her dress as she went. She couldn't do it though. She couldn't bring herself to look up.

"Skye!" Simmons chastised, "You have to look at your reflection some time. Why don't you just get it over with?" Skye let out a childish groan, and silently counted down from three in her head. When she reached zero, she snapped her head up to the mirrors – she figured the best way to do this would be by applying "bandaid logic"; get it over and done with all at once.

She froze; a mixture of shock and disbelief settling on her face. Was that still her? Skye looked down once again and took in the beautiful, white gown. It was strapless with a beaded, corset bodice that flowed down into an A-line skirt. When she had seen it on the hanger, she had been mortified. Skye wasn't really into wearing sparkly things; she was about practicality, remember? But now, as she took in the sight of herself in the wedding dress, she couldn't care less about practicality. Despite the beading on the bodice, the overall look was still a simple one. And she loved it. It didn't matter that she would only get to wear this dress for an hour or two, she was sold.

A grin broke out on her face, and she turned slightly to see Simmons mirroring her smile. "What do you think?" She asked, her British accent coming through strongly, "As bad as you thought?"

Skye laughed slightly, and smirked "Are you kidding me? It's even worse!" she answered mockingly with an exaggerated eye roll. The two girls broke out into fit of light laughter, revelling in the moment. Being on the Bus all the time really didn't allow many opportunities for girl-time, and so, for the two of them, this was a rare joy.

Still smiling, Skye turned backed to her reflection and took in the sight of herself in a wedding dress once more. She was still struggling to come to terms with it, to be honest. Wedding dress. Wow. She knew it was just a cover, just part of another op for S.H.I.E.L.D. but she couldn't find it within herself to care. She, Skye, was wearing a wearing a wedding dress, and she was actually going to let herself enjoy it.

And just like that, she felt as if all the tension she'd been holding on to melted from her body. She took another breath, and this time, she found it be soothing. She giggled slightly to herself, and turned back to Simmons. "Now comes the real problem... Where am I going to hide my gun?"