Title: Red
Author: snarkysweetness
Rating: R
Pairing: Skyeward with Simmons & Trip
Summary: Skye continued to shake as she glanced down at her hands, blinking in confusion. They were stained red. Blood; she was covered in blood.
It wasn't until she processed the body at her feet a moment later that she realized the screams were coming from her.
Warnings: Blood, violence, and angst.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: This is one of my many dumb things for Skyeward Week. I used the prompts 'red' and 'anger'. I don't even know what this is, I have so many theories about Skye's powers and I wanted to do something with them but I also didn't want to get too into it where it got confusing so I hope that's what I was able to do here. If not, at least I tried?
Someone called her name.
Skye stood, still frozen in place.
They were a million miles away.
Her vision swam as her body began to shake.
Someone was screaming.
Red.
Everything was red.
So much red.
Everything around her was stained with it.
The smell of iron invaded her nostrils.
Why was everything red?
Jemma suddenly stood in front of her; Skye could make out her name on her lips.
The screaming grew louder.
"SKYE! We have to move!"
Skye continued to shake as she glanced down at her hands, blinking in confusion. They were stained red. Blood; she was covered in blood.
It wasn't until she processed the body at her feet a moment later that she realized the screams were coming from her.
"Skye…go."
"No," she whispered in horror as she stared down at Grant. A dying Grant. He was dying.
Her body shook once more and she realized she'd been sobbing.
"We have to go!"
"No!" She screamed, breaking out of her state of shock. She remembered everything in vivid detail. He'd taken a bullet for her and she'd caught him before he could fall. She'd tried to carry him away from the firefight but he was too heavy and…
There was so much blood. How was there so much blood?
He'd slipped from her grasp and then…
She blinked. She couldn't remember anything after that but bodies littered the floor.
Why couldn't she remember?
"Skye…please.." He coughed blood. She moved to him but Jemma held her back. Skye fought against her, screaming that he needed her. She could save him. They could save him. They had to save him. She'd just gotten him back, she couldn't lose him again.
Trip took hold of her and carter her off while she struggled against him, screaming.
"The building is going to blow, Skye-"
"WE HAVE TO SAVE HIM!"
"He's already dead, baby girl."
Skye met Grant's eyes a final time. When they closed everything went black.
"Skye? Skye? Sweetheart, please wake up."
She was shaking again-no, shivering. She was freezing. Was she dead? She kept her eyes closed. She could hear Grant's voice and it was comforting. Maybe they'd both died and they were still together but as his voice grew louder her head began to pound and she realized she wasn't dead. Death wasn't supposed to hurt like this.
"Grant?" She whispered as she blinked awake. She was in the med pod and her hair was wet and the light hurt her eyes but she kept blinking until his form came into view. She flung her arms around him.
He was real.
"How?"
She kept her hold of him, unable to let go. His fingers moved into her hair and she fought off the urge to cry. He'd been dying, he'd lost too much blood to survive, and the building blew, right?
Grant pulled away and studied her face. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"It's all flashes. We were in the compound and we got separated from the team and then you were shot and then…it was like I blacked out and then you were dying and Jemma said the bomb was going to go off; we didn't get to it in time. And then Trip was there? Why can't I remember?"
She stared down at her fresh clothes. Someone had cleaned her up but she could still see the blood on her hands. That memory was ingrained in her mind.
"What happened," she asked in a hoarse whisper.
She knew from his face it was bad. He'd promised to never lie to her again but she could see he wanted to.
"Just tell me."
Grant took their hands, linking their fingers together, and met her eyes steadily.
"Skye you need to know that it wasn't your fault. What happened wasn't in your control."
"I killed them, didn't I?"
She still didn't understand the darkness that lingered beneath her surface. She had powers she didn't understand and therefore had no control over. Was she becoming the monster she was born to be?
"I don't know, Skye. When I fell it was like you were in so much pain your powers just unleased. There was a blinding light, like an explosion, and then it went away and the soldiers were dead and you were screaming like you were in a nightmare. I haven't been so scared for you since you were shot," he whispered as he reached up to cup her cheek. "Then when Trip tried to get you out before the bomb went off you did it again but it was like a hundred times worse, I could feel your pain. I was fading and then I could feel everything and..." He raised his shirt and there was nothing there. No bullet wound, no scar, nothing.
Skye placed her hands on his chest in confusion. "I did this?"
He wrapped his hand around hers and nodded.
"And the bomb?"
"You stopped it. I don't know how, but Skye you saved all of us."
She shook her head. "No, I killed people, Grant." Death had followed her since the day she was born. She was the goddamn angel of death.
He took her face in his hands. "They were terrorists, Skye. They were going to kill thousands of people, hell; they were going to kill us. You shouldn't feel guilty, especially when you had no control over what happened."
She felt on the edge of a nervous breakdown. "We have to leave, go somewhere where I can't hurt anyone-"
"Skye, no."
They'd discussed this before, when he'd told her what Raina had told him about her past. She'd been so afraid of the team discovering the truth and now they knew. He couldn't argue with her now, it wasn't safe for them.
"They know what I am, Grant. It's not safe. I'm dangerous and there are always going to be people who will want to carve me up to play in my brain. Did you forget that? They're not safe from me or from the people who might try to use me."
He wrapped his hands around hers before pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"Skye, the team is worried about you. None of them care about what you are-"
"I'm a monster."
He met her eyes. "No, you saved them. You're still you. They don't care about what you are they love you. You're safest here, Skye, with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protection. Your safety is what matters most to me."
"And the team's matters most to me! They're my family!"
"They're mine too, Skye, but they're already in danger! And Skye, you killed those soldiers but the team wasn't hurt. Whatever these powers are, Skye, I don't think they're dangerous to the team. I think they're meant to keep you and the people around you safe."
She shook her head. She got people killed, even if she wasn't the one doing the killing. They'd never been safe. It was selfish to stay with them.
"Skye, I promise, the moment I think they're in danger we'll go on the run. Find someplace remote, where I can keep you safe."
"Grant," she whispered as she glanced up at him. "I won't be able to live with myself if their blood winds up on my hands."
"It won't."
Just the thought of losing any of them, even voluntarily tore her insides apart.
"You really think they're safe from me?"
He pressed his lips to the back of her hand and nodded.
"And if that changes you promise we'll leave?"
He nodded.
Skye turned over the decision in her mind. After a few minutes she made up her mind. If they ran now the team would only go after them, putting themselves in danger. She'd wait things out, for now.
"All right, we'll stay."
He sighed in relief and she allowed him to pull her against his chest. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his heart beating. She hated these unknown powers of hers but she was thankful they'd saved his life. She needed him more than she cared to admit. Grant and the team were the only things in this world that still mattered, why she kept fighting.
"How are we going to handle this? We need to explain things to them, I mean, I'm sure Coulson's told them what he knows but that's not enough. Jemma's going to want to get to the root of this with science and I need to find out what I am so I can control whatever this is."
Grant pressed a kiss to the top of her head and held her tighter.
"We're going to do this the same way we do everything; together."
