Set between Season 3 and Season 4. Mack and Yoyo are in the beginning of their relationship.
Mack and Yoyo walked side by side through the halls of the Playground. This would be Elena's first Christmas as a SHIELD agent, and she was rather happy to spend it with her new team, Mack especially.
"So," she began. "What do you all do for Christmas around here?"
"As full-time agents, it's rather difficult to go home and spend time with family," Mack said. "However, we do know how to raise spirits around here. Coulson usually makes dinner for everyone. We all found out last year that why May is not allowed in the kitchen," Mack said with a laugh.
"May can't cook?" Yoyo asked surprised. "Melinda May, who just happens to be really good at practically everything, can't cook?"
"Literally can't do it to save her life," Mack added. "Yeah, last year we had some good times. Christmas was shortly before we met. Joey just became a part of the team, Lincoln was still alive, Bobbi and Hunter were still here as well, and so was Daisy."
Mack sighed after saying Daisy's name. They all tried to help her any way they could, but no matter what they did, they couldn't help her through her withdrawals after being possessed by Hive. She also felt so guilty for Lincoln's death that one day, she just packed up and left without saying a single word.
"You still gonna look for her in the new year?" Elena asked, putting her hand on the tall man's arm.
He nodded in response. "Coulson and I will be taking Z1 in search of her. We need to make sure she's alright. We'll be sure to bring her home."
"I'm sure you will, but don't forget, she can take care of herself. I'm sure wherever she is, she's thinking about all of you." Mack nodded. "Any fun traditions you and your family had?"
Mack thought to himself as a smile grew on his face again. "My family would spend almost all of Christmas Eve in the kitchen," Mack explained. "We would have family over, so me, my brother, and our cousins would run around the house, playing with one another. Our Christmas Eve dinners were just as big as Thanksgiving. After dinner, everyone put on their best church clothes as we went to the Christmas Eve service. After church, all of us kids would change into our pajamas as we all eagerly waited for Santa. Our parents would let us open one present on Christmas Eve just because we were so eager."
"That sounds really sweet."
"It was. In the morning, us kids would be waking all our parents up at the crack of dawn to open presents." Mack laughed. "We sat desperately by the tree as our parents slowly got their morning coffee. After opening presents, my mom would make the entire family her famous french toast. That was probably my favorite part of Christmas morning."
"I hope to try those one day."
"They are literally the best," Mack said. "The SHIELD team here, well, last year we had a gingerbread house building competition. Jemma and Lincoln won, which isn't fair, by the way, given that they were both doctors, so they have super steady hands. After dinner, we all wore ugly sweaters while watching Christmas movies."
"I can't wait to be a part of this," Yoyo said.
Mack nodded before another thought came to his head. "What about you? How did you celebrate Christmas in Colombia?"
Yoyo smiled, remembering the memories from her childhood. "Even though I grew up in a pretty bad area as opposed to the larger cities, my family still found ways to make every Christmas memorable."
"Do tell."
"Believe it or not, Christmas was basically the entire month of December," Elena explained. "On December 7th, we celebrate Día de las Velitas."
"Day of the Little Candles?"
Elena nodded. "I see someone's been picking up some español," Yoyo teased. "The houses and streets are all decorated with candles, lanterns, and a whole lot of lights. There are fireworks, music, and tons of food."
"Seems fun," Mack said.
"It is. The majority of the month, we take part in novenas, which is where family, friends, and neighbors all come together during special times to pray leading up to Christmas. It was usually a different house hosting every day in my neighborhood. I remember one time when my family was hosting, my cousin, Francisco, and I were running and accidentally broke the nativity set. My mother was rather upset with us that night." Elena let out a chuckle at the silly childhood memory. "We wave some of the typical Christmas decorations, you know, like a Christmas tree and lights, but we also have red and white candles in windows or on balconies. The children all write a carte al Niño Dios asking what we want for Christmas. We have Cena de Navidad on Christmas Eve. The dishes we eat are usually lechona, ham, turkey, and Ajiaco Bogotano. After the meal, we would go to midnight mass."
"Midnight? For real?" Mack asked.
"Sí," Yoyo replied. "Honestly, I don't think we ever slept on Christmas Eve. We all just kind of stayed up and opened presents in the morning."
"Anything else you do?"
Elena thought for a moment. "Christmas festivities never really ended after the 25th. On December 28th, we celebrated Innocents Day, which is basically like your guys' April Fool's Day. It really is a lot of fun."
"Just by the way you've described everything makes me want to celebrate Christmas in Colombia," Mack admitted.
Yoyo hummed. "Well, who knows. Maybe you'll get the chance."
"Maybe I will," Mack replied, putting his arm around Elena's shoulders. Together, they walked to the common room where the Christmas festivities were being held that year.
Source for Colombian Christmas traditions: https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/colombia.shtml
