Disclaimer: I don't own it. Nope. Nope. Nope.
Note 1: This is an idea that I've been kicking around for a while now, and since Week 3, Day 5 of Skyeward Month is Dark!Skyeward, I decided to give it a go. Though I am posting it a day early, just because.
Note 2: This is done for now. I may come back to this someday, but it ain't going to be anytime soon. I've got four currently ongoing projects, a new idea my muse gave me the other day that I'll be picking up as soon as I have the time and space, and two other fics currently on a semi-hiatus that I need to get back to eventually. Not to mention some other minor commitments. So any continuation will be some time in the future.
Note 3: Unbeta'd.
Hail Skydra!
By Alkeni
Eric Koenig was dead.
Skye hadn't killed him. And unless there was someone else on this base that was wandering around without a lanyard...
Then the only one who could have done it was Ward.
He said May left... did he kill her too? Despite herself, Skye felt her throat tighten just a little in fear. As far she could guess, there was only one reason Ward would kill Koenig.
He was Hydra.
Just like me. So there was no reason to be afraid.
Skye hadn't meant to develop feeling for Ward. It hadn't been part of the plan. Playing Ward. Playing on the fact that he'd been attracted to her from the start. Yea. That had been part of the plan. But she hadn't planned on him developing feelings for her – that made things complicated. No need to mix feelings up into it.
And she hadn't planned on developing feelings for him. He was Grant Ward, tool-bag extraordinaire. Loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent. Hot, sure, but feelings? No.
She'd been upset when she'd realized May and Ward were sleeping with each other, but she'd convinced herself it was just about that potentially getting in the way of the plan. If she'd been able to get Ward into bed with her, she'd could have kept him off balance indefinitely.
Then again, I did pretty damn good at it anyway. It wasn't like Ward had seen through her act.
Of course, I didn't see through his. Damnhe's good! Well, not in a moral sense. But despite what he'd thought, neither was she.
She moved out from under the vent, not wanting to get blood on herself. She'd seen dead bodies before. But she hadn't seen many. And hadn't had blood dripping almost onto her from a body in a ceiling vent. It was freaky – she wasn't going to deny that.
She'd realized her own feelings for Ward when her last thoughts as she slipped into unconsciousness after Quinn shot her had been of him. Not of her mission. Not of the Comms Agent who'd taken her in when she'd just been a lost girl on the streets at the age of 16, pulling off minor hacks and being so proud of herself for each one.
Agent Felicia Carson had shown her how to completely erase an identity – and so away hag gone Mary Sue Poots. Agent Carson had taught her a lot about hacking and computers – and Skye had gone on to even better. She hadn't lied to Ward when she'd told him that computer science game naturally to her.
When Agent Carson heard about Coulson not being among the dead anymore... it hadn't been particularly surprising that she'd wanted to find out. Skye had leaped at the opportunity. Coulson was famous for picking up strays, broken people who wanted help. And as much as she was grateful to Agent Carson for all her help, there was still one piece of information that the level 7 Comms Agent, who'd carefully kept her out of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records, couldn't get her. The information that redacted file. The truth about her parents.
When Hydra came out of the shadows, she'd stayed with her team. Deep cover. Stay under until contacted. But then the Triskellion had fallen... and Agent Felicia Carson had been among the casualties. Skye hadn't had time to mourn the woman, amidst everything else. She couldn't risk anyone asking questions.
With Carson dead, her primary link to Hydra was gone...
She hadn't known what to do. She had no particular love for Hydra, but at least they were self-righteous like S.H.I.E.L.D. They didn't want to lock the advanced technology away. They wanted to use it. For world domination, sure, but still...
The two agencies were close enough to the same, for all intents and purposes.
But she had come to care about the team, as much as she hated to admit it. And she had developed those feelings for Ward...
She'd pretty much made her decision – stay with S.H.I.E.L.D. Stay with the team. Stay with Ward.
But now... now she had another option. Ward's Hydra. She could go with him. If Ward was Hydra, then Garrett was probably still alive.
The drive – Garrett wanted the information on the drive. At least, the information on that 'G.H. 325', anyway. She could unlock the drive for him, and she could stay with Ward.
There were still a couple unanswered questions. She didn't think Ward had been faking his feelings. He was good, but... no. That conversation, in Koenig's office before that kiss... it had been his attempt at a goodbye, almost. Because he'd thought she was loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D.
But had Ward known that Garrett was going to have her shot? And had he set out to win her over, or had it been as much an accident for him as if had been for her.
One way or the other, he played me, the same way I played him. Skye had a healthy ego – one she'd earned, damnit! - and she didn't jump for joy at the idea that she'd been played by anyone.
Skye looked to the penny that had dropped when she'd opened the door to the supply closet and smirked as an idea started to form in her mind. Let's have a little fun with Ward first.
-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-AoS-
"What I want is to stay here with you and imagine the world outside doesn't exist." Skye held back the self-satisfied smirk that threatened to form on her face. It would nice. Skye admitted. Just her and Ward.
So how is he going to play it?
"But the world outside does exist." Ward said after a moment. "I just got word from Fitz." Somehow, Skye doubted he had. She searched his expression for any hint of a lie. She couldn't see one. He's good... this time, Skye did allow herself a small smile. One of the reasons she'd come to feel what she did for him was because he kept her on her toes. And this was only part of it. "They need our help. The bus is fueled up, ready to go." He started to walk around her, past her. Skye turned, following him a half pace.
"Wait." Ward turned around. "We should tell Koenig." Even if Fitz really had contacted him – which wasn't entirely outside the realm of possibility – this would tell her for sure just how good a liar Ward was. If he thought she was one of the good guys, he could hardly tell her he'd killed Koenig.
"I just did." He pointed down the hall with his thumb, speaking quickly. "He's headed outside to open the hangar doors." Liar. But she couldn't tell. If she hadn't seen Koenig's body, she'd have believed him.
"Cut the crap Ward." Skye told him in an even tone. She stepped closer to him and put her hands on his chest, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him towards her. "I know you killed Koenig." She added in a lower voice, then she pulled him in for a kiss, letting one hand go to the back of his neck. She kept the kiss going for nearly a minute, then pulled away, smirking.
"Hail Hydra."