Title: I've Loved You Forever
Author: snarkysweetness
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Skyeward with Fitz, Simmons, Trip, & Bishop with past Skyemiles
Summary: Skye realizes too late that she's in love with her best friend.
Warnings: Rated for language.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: Annie requested Skyeward + fake relationship au.
Skye angrily blew her nose and wiped her eyes. This was stupid; she was stupid. Why had she even agreed to this? So she could make some guy jealous? She was such an idiot. She regretted ever letting her friends talk her into this to begin with.
"What a stupid-he's an asshole." Kate said loudly as she poured another round of shots.
Skye sat in the corner of Kate's in-home bar and shrugged. She was heartbroken, sure, but she wasn't bitter enough to sling insults. "No, he's not." Miles wasn't a bad guy and she'd been the one to end things. It had been moving too fast, she didn't handle feelings well, and she'd gotten scared. It was what she always did. He had every right to start dating someone new. She was the asshole for being jealous.
"Kate, I don't think the typical girl responses are going to work in this situation," Jemma said, trying to be helpful, but it came out in her professorial tone.
"Fuck him," Kate exclaimed as she took another shot.
"She's already done that!" Trip called from the pool-table where he was losing to Ward.
Kate flipped him the finger. Skye ignored them and glanced down at the Scotch she was nursing with a pout. She looked up when she felt eyes on her and met Ward's gaze. He gave her a small nod and she couldn't help but smile. He'd always had that effect on her.
"You should date someone new; show him you can move on just as fast as he can. Make him jealous."
"Kate," Skye whispered with a sigh, not in the mood. "I'm not going to date someone to make him jealous, that's disgusting and it wouldn't be fair to the person I'd be dating."
Kate scoffed. "I'm not saying date a real person, I'm saying date someone like…Ward!"
"What?" Skye and Ward said at the same time.
Kate smirked. "Yeah, I mean he's like a weirdo who doesn't date anyway so it's not like you're taking him off the market. And he's like…hot, I guess; if you're into that white boy thing."
"You do know you're white, right?" Trip said with one brow raised.
Kate ignored him.
"Oy, what's wrong with being a white boy?" Fitz yelled from behind the bar where he was fiddling with some device he was trying to build that would pour shots automatically.
"Nothing, it's just you're all boring and look the same," Kate said matter-of-factly. "Now shut up, I'm talking.
Anyway, Ward is like hot enough to make Miles jealous. He'll see how happy someone else is making you and want you back."
"This is so stup-"
"I'll do it."
Skye glanced over to find Ward watching her with that look that always made her feel guilty for reasons she couldn't identify.
"I'm not sure I even want him back and if I did-"
"Hey, this way you aren't losing the break-up, right?"
She didn't know if it was the five pairs of eyes watching her or the fact that dating Ward didn't seem like the worst idea in the world but she'd somehow been talked into it and it was the worst decision of her life.
Not because it'd failed (Miles was getting married for crying out loud) but because she'd known this would end with someone getting hurt and it seemed that someone was her.
She'd learned too late that the reason every relationship she'd ever been in had failed was because her heart already belonged to someone else. No matter how wonderful the guys she dated were they all had one flaw; they weren't Grant Ward.
She'd loved him for so long that it had never occurred to her that she was in love with him, at least not until it was too late. He was a part of her, one of her best friends, the person who could brighten even her darkest days and she'd lost him.
"I can't do this anymore."
It was like a slap in the face.
This was her fault, she shouldn't have kissed him. They'd stuck to hand-holding and holding each other when Miles was around to keep up their little charade, which had already failed (the fact that she'd still been unwilling to end this plan she hadn't even wanted to enact in the first place should have been her first sign), but she'd crossed a line.
She hadn't been able to help it, they were sitting close on the couch, talking about a topic from a class they shared, and for a moment she'd forgotten they were just friends. 'Dating' him felt so natural, like it was what she should have been doing for years, and before she knew it she was leaning in and pressing her lips to his and she'd immediately realized her mistake when he pulled away from her.
Skye was an idiot; not only had she crossed a line with one of her best friends but kissing him had made very clear what she'd been unable to realize for far too long; she was completely in love with her best friend.
"Grant, I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have-"
"No, it's okay, I get it; you were just trying to keep up the act."
She didn't know why he was talking to her like this, like they were strangers. His tone cut like a knife.
"Look, this was…well, stupid, but I wanted to help you, maybe help you find some happiness, but there's this girl and I just…it's not fair to me to keep doing this."
"Grant, I never-"
"I have to go."
He'd rushed out of her apartment before she could say anything else and now she was locked in her bathroom crying her eyes out because she was in love with him and she'd probably ruined their friendship and he'd finally found someone he wanted to date.
She'd lost him.
She was…
Was this what heartbreak really felt like?
She thought she'd felt it when she'd let Miles go but this was more painful. She felt like she would die from the heartache.
Oh God, she'd really fucked up this time.
"Baby girl, I know you're in there."
If had been anyone else knocking on her door she would have ignored them but Trip was her oldest friend so she opened the door and let him pull her into his arms where she began to weep openly. She wasn't shy about showing her emotions, she was like her dad that way, but Trip was the only person she felt comfortable falling apart like this with.
"I lost him," she sobbed.
She didn't even have to explain, Trip just seemed to know. "I know, Skye, I'm sorry. I wanted you two kids to realize how you felt about each other on your own, but not like this. I'm going to kill Kate for this crap plan of hers."
Skye pulled away and blinked at him. "What?"
He sighed. "Come on, Skye, fake dating? Like that ever works. Kate was trying to get you two to have a reason to make-out so you'd get your heads out of your asses and admit you liked each other and date for real. I didn't think it'd end with you crying in a bathroom or I wouldn't have gone along with it."
Skye choked back a sob. "Yeah well your plan assumed he loved me back and he doesn't. I'm so stupid, I wish I could go back to being ignorant to my feelings, it hurt less."
Trip gave her a 'look'.
"What are you talking about? Ward is desperately in love with you. Do you know how many times he's fallen apart because you started dating some new guy? He's been in love with you since he met you but he's always been too chicken shit to do anything about it. At least he was, until he went along with this bullshit plan of Kate's. That guy would do anything to be with you even if it was a lie."
Skye blinked and shook her head in disbelief. "No, he told me there was someone else."
Trip took her gently by the shoulders and met her eyes. "No, there's only you."
"But why would he lie?" She whispered as she replayed the earlier scene in her head. He hadn't met her eyes and he'd been short with her, like he just wanted to get the hell out of there. She'd assumed it was because of how awkward the situation was but maybe-
"I wanted to help you, maybe help you find some happiness."
No.
He hadn't?
"That dumbass," she muttered before shoving past Trip.
"Where are you going?"
Skye grabbed her keys and jacket and made a beeline for her door. "I have to do something," she called as she rushed down to her van. She fumbled with her keys and dropped them twice before unlocking her door and swinging it open.
He was such an idiot. If Trip was right about his feelings then he'd made up some other girl because he thought she was still in love with Miles (he couldn't be more wrong) and he couldn't do this pretending to date thing anymore because it hurt too much.
She hoped Trip was right or she was about to make an ass out of herself.
Skye sped the whole way to Ward and Fitz's apartment. She pulled her shittiest parking job ever the moment she got there and jumped out of the van. She didn't even bother to lock it.
"Hey, Skye, what are you-"
"Not now, Fitz," she said as she rushed past him in the stairwell.
By the time she reached their apartment she was seriously regretting running the whole way there. She pounded on the door and tapped her foot impatiently while she waited for him to answer.
When he finally did he looked surprised to see her. "Skye? What are you-"
"What's her name," Skye asked quickly, ignoring the fact that she was out of breath.
"What?"
Skye took a gulp of air and repeated herself slowly. "The girl. What's her name?"
"What girl?" He quickly realized his mistake and scrunched his brow, searching for an answer. "Well, um, it's no one you-"
"That's what I thought. There's no girl, is there Grant?"
He shifted uncomfortably. "Um…I mean…I…yes," he stammered.
She smiled in relief.
"You're such a weirdo," she muttered before reaching up and grabbing him by the back of the neck. She pulled him down until their lips met and this time he didn't pull away. Instead Grant stood frozen for a long moment before kissing her back. Skye smirked triumphantly and continued to kiss him for another moment before pulling away.
She stood on her tip toes so she could rest her forehead against his. She waited a moment to allow him a chance to collect himself before speaking. "Next time just ask me out on a real date like a normal person."
"What?"
She grinned; he was so dumb sometimes, it was adorable.
"You didn't have to fake date me to date me, you dumbass."
"Skye, what are you-"
"I love you, you dummy," she confessed with a smirk as she glanced up at him.
A goofy smile formed on his lips as he registered her words. "Really?"
Skye nodded and leaned up to brush her lips across his once more. "Really," she whispered as she reached for his hand.
He continued to stand there like the dork he was and she stared up at him with a sigh. "You're supposed to invite me in so we can make-out now, freak."
"Oh, right," he said still grinning. He led her into the apartment dreamily and she tried not to laugh. How had she missed this for so long? She was just as dumb as he was.
"Come here," she muttered as she pulled him onto the sofa with her and kissed him again; a real kiss this time, the kind of kiss that led to other things; sexy things.
Oh God, just imagining him naked was hot how hot would it be to actually get him naked? She had to find out for science.
Skye slipped her hands under his shirt and moaned when she felt his abs. Oh man, she was an idiot. She could have had these a long time ago if her head hadn't been up her own ass. She was going to send Kate and Trip a box of chocolates each in thanks for this.
Before she could defile him and make him a man they both had the wind knocked out of them as Buddy jumped between then and began licking her face. Skye chuckled and hugged him around the neck. She couldn't be mad at this bug lovable oaf.
"Hey there, Buddy, calm down before your daddy gets jealous."
"I love you too," Grant blurted out and Skye hid her head in Buddy's neck to hide a smile.
She glanced up a moment later and met his eyes. "I know."
"But I mean, like…I've loved you forever, I mean, for a long-I mean-"
Skye cut him off with a kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Grant, do me a favor," she muttered in-between kisses. "Just do what you do best and don't talk for a while."
"If I do does that mean more kissing," he asked half-dazed.
Skye smirked and climbed into his lap. "Oh, it might mean a lot more than kissing."
He smiled and then began choking on air when he realized what she meant.
"Don't worry, I'll be gentle."
"I think I'm going to pass out. Am I dreaming?"
Skye burst out laughing and hugged him. "Shh, don't worry, we'll take it slow, I have a lot to teach you before I pop that cherry."
"Skye!" Now he knew she was teasing him and he was not amused.
"Want to make-out some more?"
She kissed him again before he could answer and when Fitz came home two hours later they were still making out on the couch and Grant Ward had his very first hickey which Fitz documented for blackmail material before either one of them came up for air to realize they weren't alone.