Why is Skye so afraid of hand to hand combat? Can Ward get her to overcome her fear?

A/N: Title from OneRepublic's song 'What You Wanted'

I was down in the training room, working on "creating and toning muscle mass" as Ward put it with a contraption called a Super Flex Band. The thing looked like a rubber band on steroids, and I hadn't exactly had a love affair with the thing the first month, but now I actually liked the pull, the ache in my muscles.

I couldn't help smirking remembering the first day.

"Seriously, what do you want me to do with that?" I couldn't even come up with a snarky example of what I could do with the over-sized rubber band, I was too busy eying it suspiciously as Ward held it out impatiently.

"Use it," he stated, shaking it for me to take it, then as I gingerly gripped it between my thumb and first finger he turned around and picked a second up that was twice as thick and wide, dropped it under his feet, stepped on it, then looked at me and rolled his eyes. "Come on."

Biceps and shoulders were first, thumbs hooked under the bands Ward swept his arms up and-

"Skye?"

"Hmm?" I said. Wow, was he built. I mean, it was always obvious, but this…it was almost indecent how his muscles stretched and his shirt strained. And had ridden up on his smooth, toned stom-but I was supposed to be paying attention.

"Are you going to try?" he asked, attempting forbearance.

"Yup. But don't expect me to be all Robot right away," I said brightly.

So maybe I hadn't hated the Flex Bands from the start. Just once he left me alone with them. But the teaching part was fun. Crushing on your S.O. was probably a really bad thing, I thought now, as another loud song came on my head phones.

I'd discovered I had better endurance if I had good, loud music to keep my beat matched to. I arched towards the pain in my muscles, stretched into it as I finished the set, then turned to get the next band.

"Ugh!" I yanked my headphones down. "Robot, are you always set to stealth?" I asked in frustration.

Ward wandered down the stairs to the floor of the training area. "Only sometimes Rookie," he replied easily, picking up my dropped band and setting it on the bench. "You about done? I thought we could do some hand to hand combat practice while you're warmed up."

I picked up my water bottle and took a deep drink, nodded along. Hoped he didn't notice me shaking. Hand to hand was a double-edged sword. I hated being close to men, had had one too many bad experiences and in general didn't trust them, so being physically near them wasn't high on my list of favorite things. On the other hand, for some reason, my body reacted a little too happily to being near Ward.

So I was always a big ball of tense during hand to hand. Might as well get it over with.

Twenty minutes later, the loose heat in my muscles from working with the bands was gone. My leggings were damp and my long, loose tank top was swirling around me as I ducked away from Ward yet again.

He sighed, and stopped lunging for me. "Skye, you're doing really well with the dodging, and getting away. But you need to know what to do if you don't get away. That's the whole point of hand to hand."

"Right. That's why it's not called dodge and duck." I smirked, hiding my alarm at the corner he and I were paint me into.

"Exactly, Rookie." He smiled back, the warm one, and I softened. Ward and I had slowly become friends in the time I had been on the Bus, and inexplicably, I trusted him. I trusted Coulson and Fitz too; honestly, I trusted more men on this plane than I had in a long, long time, but with Ward, it was different.

I could do this.

I had to do this, or own up to my fears. Which wasn't something I'd ever admitted to anyone.

"Okay, what do we do?" I asked brightly.

"I'm going to put you in a strangle hold, and you're going to figure out how to get out of it," he said matter-of-factly, stepping up behind me.

"Great," I replied sarcastically as one arm wrapped around my left arm and chest and the other came up around my throat, stopping just short of hurting.

"Now, how do you get out of it?" he asked.

I thought for half a second, highly aware of his toned chest pressed tightly against my back. "Knee you?"

"Your knee is in the wrong place." He said dryly.

"Kick?" I tried.

"High pain threshold. This isn't some teenager mugging you. Assassins, con men, drug lords. Kneeing them where it counts isn't going to cut it as a get out of jail free card, Skye," Ward explained, the words rumbling through his chest and into my back.

I was practically vibrating with tension.

And he finally noticed. "You might want to start with loosening up. If you're too tense, you won't be able to do anything."

"Right. Loosen up. How do I do that when someone's trying to strangle me?"

"Think about something happy?" he tried.

I snorted. "Yeah, okay. Stupid. I breathe deeply."

I did as he suggested, and got a lung-full of cologne, spearmint and Ward-sweat. Not entirely unpleasant, but it just reminded me of how close we were, and only served to make me tense of further.

The Robot felt this, and sighed again, releasing me. "We've got to figure this out." He said, rubbing his eyes. "If you can't do hand to hand…" he trailed off, looking worried.

"I can," I said, and he shot me a look. "I will," I amended.

"I just have to figure out a way to teach you better," Grant said, dropping down on the bottom step of the stairs and staring off in space. I could see 'what am I doing wrong' written in his eyes.

I stood in the middle of the room for a moment. Went and got my drink. Debated telling him. Took a few deep sips. Thought some more. Put the bottle down. Padded over next to him and sat down a small distance away.

"It's not you." I said quietly, "it's me."

His eyes snapped over. "I'm broken."

"Rookie?" his voice was soft.

"My parents didn't want me, no family ever kept me for more than a handful of months. And that didn't exactly make me desirable to the 'nice' boys, I wasn't around long enough and who'd want the foster kid anyway? Kids are so stupid. My foster fathers weren't all stand-ups either." I could feel my mouth twisting up bitterly, but I couldn't help it. "You probably wouldn't want to pick me to do an ad for how great men are. I'm not the biggest fan."

"You don't trust them." The Robot didn't take long to catch on, I had to give him that. Then something happened in his eyes. "You don't trust me." It wasn't a question.

"I-"

"It's okay, I get it. But I'd never hurt you. And I'll always have your six, you hear me? I'm your S.O. And your friend, I thought." His hand came up and hovered near my shoulder, then dropped.

"I know. I just wanted you to know it wasn't your fault." I jumped up. I didn't like seeing that look on his face, knowing I put it there. "Let's try again."

"I don't know Skye. Maybe we should wait awhile…"

"And do what, trust exercises?" I quipped. "Come on, now who's scared?"

He stood slowly, and gripped me gently. His breath fanned my ear and shoulder. "Just relax today, and we'll work on the rest later. Sound good?"

He was babying me, and I knew it. But I didn't care. I almost felt safe now in his arms-I was convinced he was holding me looser this time. I breathed deeply, and for some reason, now that my secret was out, now that I wasn't in it alone and trying to hide how tense I was, his scent wasn't freaking me out. It was almost soothing…suddenly, my muscles were going loose, my shoulders relaxing against his chest.

I stayed there for several minutes, because wasn't that the point of today? And he felt so good, now that my whole body wasn't as tight as a violin string. Then a devious little thought crept across my mind. What if I surprised him? Could I overpower him then?

I stayed loose, formulating a plan, and if he thought it was odd how long I stood there in his arms, he didn't show it. Finally, I quickly whirled through a series of moves he'd taught me the previous week, ending with him jammed against the wall, just because I could and it was more impressive than simply escaping.

"Really, Rookie?" he laughed.

I was breathing hard in front of him, arm at his throat, eyes glittering in triumph, when he spun me around and penned me against the wall.

"I was hoping you'd feel confident enough to do that," he said.

"So then you decide the best way to reward me is to…?" I ask, not sure what his endgame is.

The Robot, for once, looks a little unsure himself. "Do you think I'm nice Skye?"

I'm taken aback. My gaze slams into his, and I read so much and so little at the same time. He doesn't know what he's doing, and neither do I. I know I like him, am attracted to him; and sure, he says he's got my six, has my back, but can I really trust a man?

"Y-yes," I stutter out.

"Because I think you're amazing, and anybody that can't see that or treated you badly is or was an idiot," he says, as I realize his hands aren't in hand to hand positions, but rather cradling my neck and hip.

I gulp, feel my eyes go all Bambi.

He starts to let go immediately, and begins to lean back, shoes making a scuffing sounds and he starts to step away. Not pushing. "Wait." The word tears out of my mouth before I know what I'm saying. He's still looking at me, sad and tender and completely Grant.

"What is this?" I ask, not sure I should, but needing to know. Fighting to keep my hands at my sides as I wait for his answer.

"You shouldn't be alone just because you're scared. I can climb those walls you have up, and I won't hurt you. You're amazing, and you should be loved. And it might be a little wrong since I'm your S.O., but we can work that out…if you want." His eyes promised safety. All traces of the 'robot' I'd teased him so relentlessly for were gone in the face of impassioned honesty.

"Okay," I whisper, finally bringing my hands up to his waist.

Grant's body cants in, and he leans his forehead against mine. "Can I please kiss you?" he asks, spearmint breath washing across my face.

I smirk, tilt my face up, beginning to close the distance, but he beats me to it. His lips are warm and soft and slow. His hand is kneading my neck, and although he is kissing me very, very thoroughly, he has not made one move to deepen the kiss; he's trying to prove something to me, and I know it. Treasured. Safe. I pull him closer, deepen it myself, whimper a little as he continues to gently kiss me. I feel his smile against my mouth, then he pulls back, still holds me close.

"Why'd you stop?" I whine, snuggling into the crook of his shoulder.

"Because that's not the point of this. Taking care of you is." I mentally quirk an eyebrow. Really. Usually it's doing one to get the other.

"Hmm."

"If you can agree to those terms, Rookie," he stipulates.

I huff out a breath against his neck and pull back, hover my mouth over his. "You mean, you don't want to kiss me, right now…"

"I never said that." He allows before gently kissing me again.

A/N: I'm not sure if this is a one shot or the start of some drabbles yet…review and let me know if you want more. I've already got a series of SkyWard oneshots going, so I'm not sure if I need two at the same time or not, lol!