notes:

+ well.

+ what can i say.

+ except that rainward is now taking over my life oops.

+ title from "take me to church" by hozier.

He's been staring at the ceiling for two months straight when the door to his cell finally opens. There's no dramatic explosion, but he knows from the little hiss that it's been broken into.

Raina steps through, delicately wiping her hands down on her flower dress (deep blue today). He sits up and she smiles at him. 'I had a favour to return,' she says. 'I seem to remember you getting me out of one of these places once before.' She looks around and wrinkles her nose. He's a little shocked to find that it's almost cute.

Almost.

Skye used to do something like that.

'You took your time,' he says.

Raina just shrugs. 'I'm here now. Or do you want to stay and rot?' She has a hand on her hip, and he feels like she would probably be happy enough to turn around and leave.

He stands up. 'I'm coming.'

'Good,' she says, and smiles, reaching forward to run her hand lightly across his shoulder. 'I could really use you.'

He doesn't really know what to say to that.

She turns away, hips swinging, and he is left to follow.

The hall should have two guards, but both of them are gone.

He doesn't question it. He's not sure he wants to.

There's a car waiting outside, sleek black with darkened out windows. Raina slips inside and leaves the door for him.

He sits. Raina leans forwards to tap the shoulder of their driver, and they pull away smoothly.

'So,' Ward asks, 'you want to tell me what it is you could use me for?'

Raina smiles. There's something about her smiles. Something that always makes him want more. And just plain want. That's been happening a lot lately.

'I know how useful you were to Garrett,' she says. 'I'm hoping you'll be just as good to me.' She leans towards him slightly. 'And like I said. You want what I want. Skye.'

Ward laughs. 'Skye doesn't want me. She didn't even visit.'

Raina turns fully round to him and strokes a hand down his arm. 'We can change that. Together. You'll see. We can bring out her darkness, and then she'll see you for what you are. You'll be alike.'

'And if you're wrong?'

'Well,' Raina says, 'I never am. See, I know darkness. But I can guarantee that I'll never deny your company.'

There's a part of him - a part of him that he can't deny any longer - that's hungry for words like those. That just wants and wants. Skye opened up the potential for him to want more than just her. 'You know darkness?' he repeats.

She sighs, chest heaving. 'God yes. It just eats at you, doesn't it? It's just there, always ready to consume.' She leans back. 'And sometimes you just have to let it.'

He wonders if she pulled the words out of his head. It's the same words he'd guiltily hoped SKye would say one day

'You get that, don't you?' she asks. Her index fingers traces in little patterns against his arm (like Skye used to). He should probably mind. Usually he hates to be touched like this. But he doesn't.

The car draws to a slow stop, and Raina looks up. She moves to look out the window. 'We're there,' she says, slipping out gracefully. She waits for him on the kerb, one hand on her hip.

'Quinn gave me this place to work on my research,' she says. It looks like they're outside an average warehouse. He hadn't focussed during their journey to try and work out where they are, but he thinks he can hear a dockyards close by.

Raina pushes buttons on the keypad by the door, and it swings back to let them in.

Inside isn't like the Hydra bases Ward is used to. It's not old or dusty or falling into disrepair. It's clean, bright white, and smells faintly of flowers. There's long lab tables, LED screens light up the walls showing scientific diagrams he doesn't understand, and there's a couple of lab techs working at the other end.

Raina looks up at him expectantly. 'What do you think?' she asks.

'It's good,' he says. 'Really good.'

'I'm glad you like it,' she says. 'There are rooms upstairs. If you want to stay.'

'I do,' he says. Too fast. 'It's not like I have anywhere else I could go, anyway. Not now that Garrett is gone.'

She nods. 'That's true. And I am the one who got you out.'

He smirks. 'I thought you said you were returning a favour.'

She rolls her eyes and hits his chest with the back of her hand. 'Cheeky.' She smiles. 'Follow me, I'll give you a quick tour.'

She starts down the long room, heels clicking against the white tile. 'I'm processing Skye's blood work here,' she says, pointing to a screen. 'Trying to extract everything I can. And this,' she points to the other screen, 'is the teams location.' She laughs. 'They think it's a secret. It's adorable.'

She takes him up the stairs at the other end of the room, into living quarters. 'This room is for you,' she says. She opens the door to let them in and shuts it again behind her.

It's nicer than anything he's had in a long time. A really long time. It has a double bed, three times the size of the one he had on the Bus or in his cell.

She's there again, hand on his bicep, waiting for a verdict.

'Thank you,' he says. 'It's what I need.'

She smiles, one corner of her mouth pulling up. 'That's what I thought. No one's been good to you in a while.' She moves towards him again, smoothes down his shirt. 'But don't worry. We'll fix that.' She looks up at him and smiles. He realises how much smaller she is. She's like Skye in that way. Small, but with such a presence, such confidence that you can't look away.

(He misses Skye. He's been missing her for months, but he's learned to live without her.)

She's so close, looking up at him with and he's trapped with his back to the door.

His hand on her back is purely to change their positions, to switch them round so she's the one backed up.

And then it isn't. Then she uses it to press herself right against his body and he's pulling her closer. Her hand slides up his shoulder and pulls him down to her level so she can kiss him.

She isn't gentle. As delicate as she seems, she's rough and hungry. He pushes her back against the door, and she uses it to lift herself up and curl a leg around his hip. She lets out a breath, lifting her chin to expose her neck and let him kiss, trail his teeth along it so she shivers against him.

He's ended up with one hand braced against the wall and one holding her to him. Her breath is hot against his ear, and she'll lean forwards to at it nip every time he slows to urge him on.

God, he thinks. This is so wrong.

He doesn't stop.