Chapter One - Boston
Rolling over, Skye sighed with contentment as she looked at the ridiculously good-looking man next to her. He was still sleeping and looked extremely peaceful. She debated whether to mess with him or not. She knew all his ticklish spots and decided it was too good of an opportunity to miss; she rarely woke up before he does. Wiggling down a few inches under the covers, she softly scraped her big toe nail along the bottom of his foot. Agent Grant Ward let out a small groan and buried his face further into his pillow. 'That's odd,' Skye thought, 'Ward is usually so easy to wake up.' More determined now, she snaked her hand under the covers, found his naked waist, and quickly wriggled her fingers along his sides. Ward gave a muffled shout and lifted his head up quickly from his face down position.
"Hey now," he said, grabbing her hands in his to stop her assault, "be nice." He rolled over onto his back, pulled her across his chest, and kissed her chastely before settling back down on his pillow. "I thought you wanted to sleep in today?" Ward asked, running his fingers gently up and down Skye's bare spine. She shivered at his touch. "I did. And we did. It's almost 9. That's sleeping *way in* for you." "Wow. How the hell did I sleep that long?" Ward asked, surprised. "Oh honey," Skye smirked, "we might have been in bed a while but you sure didn't sleep that long."
Ward chuckled & squeezed her waist a little tighter. "Oh I remember, trust me." He pulled her a few inches further up him & captured her lips in a searing kiss. Skye moaned softly and returned the kiss with equal passion. She let herself get lost in his embrace for a few moments before pulling away.
"What do we have on the docket for today?" Ward ignored her question and continued his kisses down her neck. "Waaaaaaard," Skye protested as he lavished her throat, "we're never going to leave this bed if you keep that up." "I know," he murmured against her neck, "and I'm fine with that." "But we only have three days. We can have massive amounts of sex on the bus. We *can't* explore the city on the bus."
Coulson had given the team a brief leave after a particularly difficult mission on the east coast. The plane had sustained some damage during their getaway and was in desperate need of repairs. So here they were – bus parked at the Boston SHIELD base, agents on leave, and three days without orders from Director Coulson. Skye was in heaven. They'd immediately found a hotel in downtown Boston, ordered room service, and taken advantage of the king size bed. Truth be told, Ward was just too damn tall for sex in a twin bed and Skye hadn't yet managed to talk him into sex anywhere else on the plane. He was still too reserved and worried about someone walking in on them. Skye hadn't had the guts to tell him the whole team had already complained about how loud they were. Oops.
"Come on, lets share a shower and then we can decide what we're gonna do today," Skye said, climbing out of bed and stretching. Ward admired her slim, naked body before following suit.
"Okay, what am I wearing?" Skye asked, walking into the bathroom in just her bra and panties. Ward just stood there, tooth brush hanging out of his mouth, eyes wide, and admired her. "Hello? Ward, hi? Eyes are up here bud." Ward took a moment to spit out his toothpaste before answering, "If you don't want me to stare, you should put some clothes on. Until then," he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him, "I'm going to admire what's mine." He nuzzled her neck and slid one hand down her waist to squeeze her ass. "Grant," she moaned. He continued kissing her neck, working his way up to her mouth. She turned her head and captured his mouth with her own.
"EWW YOU HAVE TOOTHPASTE MOUTH!" Skye pulled away quickly and spit in the sink. "Gross. Rinse your mouth out, then figure out what I need to wear." "Me?" He shouted to her retreating form. "How should I know what you're wearing?" "You grew up around here. I just assumed you'd have made some sort of plan. And whatever the plan is will tell me what I need to wear," her voice called from the other room. "Just plan for some...exploring. Just comfortable walking stuff." Ward knew exactly where he *wanted* to take Skye but hadn't summoned the courage to talk to her about it yet.
Truth was, Grant Ward did grow up around here, about 15 miles southwest of them. A small Massachusetts town called Dover. Old money mostly. Agent Triplett was right when he said his family was like the cable version of the Kennedys – more fights on Monday morning alone than any season of the Real Housewives. He'd come to accept his past over the years. Coulson had made seeing a psychologist one of his conditions on Ward returning to the team. One of his *many* conditions. And Ward was more than happy to comply. Even now, with Garrett dead for four years, Ward still had the urge to blindly follow all authority. He was getting better, though, at determining whom he should follow and whom he shouldn't. Coulson and Skye were the biggest factors in his recovery.
"Ward? What's up? You look worried." Skye's soft voice broke him out of his reverie. He felt her small, soft hand on his shoulder. He hadn't realized he was leaning on the bathroom counter while lost in his thoughts. He straightened up and looked at her in the bathroom mirror. "I do have something planned for today, if you're willing to drive a little bit." "Of course," she smiled at him but hesitated slightly, "Are you sure you're okay? We don't have to stay in Boston if you don't want. I know this is pretty much your least favorite place ever. We could take a train to New York? Or Philly? Hell, we could catch a flight to Hawaii for all I care. I just want to spend my time off with you. It doesn't matter where it is." Ward leaned into her, resting his forehead against hers. "Boston is fine. And I really do have somewhere I want to take you."
An hour later, they were finally dressed, caffeinated (thanks to the Starbucks across the street), and headed out of town in their SHIELD-loaned car. It'd been nearly twenty years since Ward had been in this area but he still knew the roads by heart. He'd often wondered what had become of his family. Did they rebuild the house he'd set fire to? Were his siblings all still alive? Were his parents still married? Was Gramsy okay?
"Hey, Ward. You have got to stop zoning out. You're starting to worry me." Skye once again pulled him out of his thoughts, her voice filled with concern. "I'm sorry. It's just being back here…it's got me thinking…about everything." Skye reached over and took his free hand. "I have no idea where my family is. I don't even know if they're alive…" He trailed off. Skye gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Is that where we're headed? To see your hometown?" "Yes and no. I don't think I could handle seeing the town. And I definitely don't think I could handle seeing where we lived." Skye was confused. "Ooooookay...so where are we going?" "You'll see," is all she got in return.