Ward was sitting on the counter watching Fitz try to fix his newest weapon. He had been talking to Simmons, but then she left, though he could still see her bustling about in the new room through the transparent door.

"It must be nice, having Simmons," Ward said.

"Uh-huh," Fitz said, hitting the gun uselessly against the counter. "I don't think about it much. Would kind of be like thinking about your left hand all the time."

Ward smiled. "Do people ask if you're… together… a lot?"

"Constantly." He looked up. "We're not, by the way."

"I know," Ward said, lifting his hand in a vaguely defensive way. "I was just wondering… What you thought you'd do, you know. If you thought she were interested."

Fitz was staring at him by now. "Why?" he drawled out slowly.

"Not because she is," Ward told him, trying to be casual. Ward trying to be casual was the absolute worst, as anyone could tell you. "I was just wondering, if you had a friend who meant a lot to you and you just wanted to be sure they weren't getting the wrong idea."

"Is this about Skye?" The way Fitz said it, with his eyebrow tilted and his hands still, gave the impression he was exasperated and interested. Ward didn't answer, so Fitz pushed on. "I don't think you need to worry about Skye, Ward."

Ward's shoulders tensed. "Then you don't think Skye…?"

"No," Fitz chortled. "Actually, Simmons and I have been betting on whether her and Coulson…"

"Skye and Coulson?" Ward sat up straight so fast that his back cracked. It was actually rather funny from Fitz's vantage point.

"Why not?" Fitz said. "They look at each other like…"

"He could be her father!"

"Oh, that's rich, coming from you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that you and May have quite an age difference."

Ward's face went entirely red. "Did Coulson tell you –" It was clear from his face that he was considering both mutiny and murder, and possibly treason, and Fitz realized he'd made a mistake.

"No," he said quickly, glad he had the gun. "Skye did."

"Skye –"

"Overheard you and May talking about it. Mentioned it offhand to Simmons and me."

"Skye knows?"

"Why do you care if Skye knows?" Fitz asked. "Thought you two were only good friends."

"We are – well, no, we're not friends, I'm her S.O."

"Right," Fitz said, finishing his work and looking away from Ward again. For a few minutes there was silence, and then Ward spoke.

"But I thought Simmons liked Coulson."

Unfortunately this was timed very well (or very poorly) with the door sliding open and Simmons walking in. The new few minutes were comprised of much blushing and confusion and muttered vehemence. Eventually Ward fled to escape the dark looks of two scientists who were not together, but were really creepy when they did that sentence-finishing thing.