Ward hit the bag hard. His hands were already so sore that if he hadn't have worn tape, he was sure his knuckles would be bleeding. He'd fallen for lies. He'd taken her side. He'd given his stamp of approval.
He'd looked like a fool.
He twisted, kicking the bag as hard as he could. He should have stuck with his first instincts. He'd known better. You don't let people in. You work.
"Ward?"
His eyes narrowed on the bag as he began punching again, ignoring Skye as she slowly came closer.
"Ward, I can explain." She stayed about three feet back.
He punched harder, sweat dripping from his brow.
"I never leaked info on you. Or Coulson. Or anyone here. I swear."
At the last sentence he stopped punching and turned his angry eyes to her. "You swear?"
She swallowed and took a step back out of self-preservation. "I…"
"Shut up." He started unwrapping his wrists. "You know what? You don't need to ever talk to me again unless I ask you to. We'll train and work on assignments. That's it."
The hurt on her face was the first thing he believed. Her eyes welled up with tears. "I'm sorry."
"You should be. I believed in you. I cared about you." He tossed the used tape in the trash. "And you spat on it."
She wiped her eyes to catch her tears before they fell. "I didn't know that I'd have friends here. I was here to-"
He raised a hand to silence her. "I don't care why you were here. You had chances to talk to me when you found out that we were here for you."
She nodded. "I know. It's not easy to open up when you're used to just depending on yourself."
He knew that one all too well. It was why he preferred to work alone. No complications. "We all have to learn lessons on trust and working together."
"I'd like to do that. I told Coulson everything."
"I don't need to know everything. I already know you haven't been honest. That knowledge is not going to fade so easily."
"I know. But since I'm laying it all out there," she left the sentence open, closed the gap between them and kissed him hard.
He was too shocked to respond right away. But soon, he kissed her back. It was one thing he knew was honest. Her passion was raw and unbound.
But that was the only thing he knew to be honest. He pulled back. "Goodnight, Skye."
She swallowed. "Goodnight."
He left her there with the punching back. He knew that they would glue the pieces back together. She was still on the team. But that crack was always there. That reminder would never fade.
And that's why he preferred to work alone.