Time for the last prompt fic of mine! Based on the topic of "Insomnia" I ended up making it into a multi-chapter ficlet collection and here's all 5 of them! Thanks to my readers - byLunaA, firerosedreamer67, Ace and Silverstream - Presenting to you, another Coulson/Skye love story! ^_^


The first time that Coulson might have guessed there was something up with Skye was when he found her sitting all alone on the Bus; she wasn't doing anything in particular but the frown etched across her forehead and dark circles under her eyes told him a different story. May had flown them to the Hub for emergency repairs and they'd all been giving quarters to spend the night there but when everyone retired to their rooms, Coulson had returned back to his office here, not knowing he wasn't alone until he was on his way out. Seeing Skye in a corner of the tail end, which had been left open, staring at the hangar they'd parked in, he couldn't help but wonder if she was okay.

"Skye... I wasn't expecting you to be here." The moment he walked up to where she sat, Coulson saw her sense his presence and gave him a half-hearted smile.

"I didn't know you were here either." Skye replied, watching as he took up the same position directly opposite her.

Simple and to the point. This wasn't like her at all. Coulson remembered noticing Skye being silent most of the time over the last few days and at first just assumed that she might be ill, but when no other symptoms presented itself to anyone, he took it upon himself to observe Skye more closely. And now, seated across from where she was, Coulson knew one thing for sure already - she looked like she hadn't slept in a while.

"What can I say, even when we're supposed to be off-duty, I still have some work to finish up. When I remembered all the papers were left in my office, I just walked over after dinner to get it done." Coulson decided to wait a little before broaching the topic with her; if Skye wasn't sleeping properly then it would explain her sudden change in behavior.

"Are you going back now?" She asked, her tone sounding neutral so that Coulson wasn't sure if she wanted him around or not.

"That was the plan, but you're still here... so if you don't mind the company..." He started to say to her, wondering what exactly was going on.

"No, not at all. I was just taking some 'me-time' again but you know that you're always welcome." For the first time in a long time, Skye actually showed a real smile forming on her lips as she kept her gaze on him.

"Me time at 3 in the morning?" Coulson tried to make it seem like a light remark but when he saw Skye staring at him, he knew that she wasn't buying it. His concern for her always was obvious whenever she was around him.

Instead of saying anything about it, Skye merely shrugged but didn't look away. There was so much on her mind right now that she didn't even know where her thoughts began or ended and what it all meant; she just needed some peace and it wasn't to be found at the Hub which is why she'd retreated to the Bus. Apart from that, Skye also was aware of the fact that she hadn't been sleeping lately, mostly due to the nightmares haunting her every time she closed her eyes; and of course since their last mission had resulted in damaging the entire corridor where everyone bunked, things were starting to feel... overwhelming?

"I guess I'm turning into a night-owl." Skye finally spoke up, breaking the quiet that had settled around her and Coulson; it was strange but now that he was here, she didn't remember what it was that had woken her up this time just as she'd laid down on the new bed in her temporary room.

"Well then we both can be night-owls together." This was what he'd been waiting for, a sign from Skye herself that she was going to open up eventually. Coulson knew that chances were she'd begun to feel the stress of these last several weeks catching up to her and if he could do anything to help her, he would.

"That sounds nice." For some reason, Skye didn't object to having him around. Pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her head there, she sighed softly, wondering if she would get sleep tonight.

Tomorrow afternoon, the team would take off and head towards the Playground base to lay low for a while since there wasn't much to do with no missions to follow up on, no orders coming through, no need for unwanted encounters with other people; Skye amounted her thoughts and emotions up to just needing privacy and only being with her friends was important to her.

"Have I ever told you about the first time I set foot inside the Hub?" Coulson asked from where he sat, sensing that maybe a little chat with Skye might help her sleep soon. "I was thinking about the first time you walked through those doors last year... and it reminded me of the days when I was a new agent." It was the first thing that had come to mind; being back at the Hub again brought back old memories from another life for him.

"I don't think I've heard this story... what about your entire collection of vintage and antiques in your office? When did you start that hobby?" Skye had perked up with interest when she heard Coulson mention his past; it was one of the mysterious things about him that made her curious and here he was, opening up to her and she had questions.

"Ah... well, I guess I could start with that first, save the story about my early days at the Hub for another time." Smiling now, Coulson figured it was better to talk about something Skye wanted to know about.

"Promise?" She knew how secretive he could get and even though she did want to hear about the other story, Skye was more eager to learn something new about Coulson first.

"Yes, okay. I promise." He didn't need to ask why because he never thought twice about making the promise to Skye that he would tell her more one day. Hopefully soon.

"Go on then, I want details about this collection of yours." Skye was alert, wide awake and intrigued to hear what Coulson had to say.

For the next hour or so, the two of them remained where they sat on opposite ends of the Bus, talking to each other and not realizing that time was flying past. Coulson stayed true to his word and told Skye of all his adventures and silly moments he'd experienced in getting a new item to add to his collection; Skye listened to every word without interrupting much unless she had a comment or a question, but no longer was she thinking about her own nightmares or feelings and after a while, once they'd settled into a comfortable pace in their conversation, she did start to yawn a little as sleep finally seemed to be catching up to her.

"I think its time we headed back to the Hub and get some rest before we leave in the afternoon." Coulson said to her when he finished the last of his tales for that night.

"Yeah, I guess we should... what's the time right now A.C.?" Having forgotten her watch and cell phone in her room, Skye realized that this was the first time she'd been tech-free during the past 12 hours.

"Almost 5.30 am." He stood up and waited until she joined him without another word; Coulson sensed that she was definitely close to sleeping now. The walk to their rooms wouldn't take more than a few minutes but if Skye fell asleep before, he'd carry her back if he had to.

"Wow... okay... sleep time for sure!" Skye exclaimed as she shuffled her feet and slid her hand in his without thinking twice.

As they made their way out of the hangar and towards the Hub where their rooms were located, Coulson couldn't help but think to himself if Skye was truly better now or if this was only the beginning. If it wasn't over, he vowed to come back to the Bus every night to check on her and see if she continued to stay awake for the next several days. There had to be something he could do to help her; maybe he just didn't know it yet.


Up next, chapter 2! ;)