I should be sleeping- instead I'm posting this.

Snow coated the forest floor as far as the eye could see, shimmering in the soft sunlight dancing through the trees. It was beautiful and serene in a way Skye never imagined it could have been. She'd never really seen snow before; at least, not like this. She'd seen dirty snow in the city streets and thin layers you couldn't play in covering the ground, but never anything like this. There were feet of snow on the ground and all Skye wanted to do was take it in for a moment without worrying about deadly lasers or people attacking her.

Sadly, the second wasn't an option as she realized a moment later when a snowball collided with the back of her head. Turning, she found Fitz diving behind a bush like it would somehow protect him from sight. He really needed to work on his hiding skills if he wanted to take her on now. Between May and Ward, she was getting pretty good at this whole secret agent/spy thing. She was bending down to return fire when a shadow fell over her followed by a relieved sigh.

The shadow and sigh alone told her who was standing behind her: Ward. He was basically the biggest person on the team, so he wasn't hard to identify. The fact that his shadow eclipsed Skye so easily just reinforced her initial identification.

Glancing back, she found her former SO standing behind her like a statue, eyes roaming the forest in a constant line. It was an instinct and she knew that now, but that didn't make it any less unnerving or depressing. He was always alert, even now when he was among friends. The snow was supposed to be beautiful and fun. It was something to play in. Yet, Ward looked like he wanted to bolt inside as quickly as he could.

"Something wrong, Grant?" asked Skye, careful to avoid her standard robot jokes. When Ward had that look on his face, the agent one that made him look almost a decade older than he was, she knew he was falling back on old instincts. And, well the robot jokes sometimes worked, during moments like this it felt like she was belittling what he'd been through.

His eyes darted down to her, the weary, haunted look beneath his gaze making her stomach twist. "I couldn't find you."

"I came outside with Fitz and Simmons to play in the snow," explained Skye with a shrug, returning to her snow ball construction. "You know, build snow men and throw snow balls. Things like that."

There was a long pause after that, filled only with the sound of shifting snow as Skye packed two snowballs together. She offered one to Ward when she was done, watching as he took it like it would fall apart. "Why are you giving me this?"

"To throw at Fitz when he pops back up," replied Skye, raising an eyebrow at him. "Please tell me you've been in a snowball fight before. You're from Massachusetts."

Again, there was a long pause as Ward stared at the snowy sphere cradled in his hands. His eyes rose at last to meet Skye's, a mix of feelings she couldn't begin to pick apart reflected there-in. "I haven't been in a snowball fight since elementary school. There was no time and no one around."

Skye offered him a small smile, standing back up while carefully cradling her own snowball in her hands. She tried so hard not to think about what Ward meant when he said that- about how literal the 'no one around' comment might be. "Well, you've got time now, and friends to play with. So let's go get Fitz."

Slowly, Ward nodded and began scanning the forest again only this time he had a target: Fitz. Skye smiled a bit, joining Ward by looking behind him for some sign of the engineer. It was a few seconds before Skye caught sight of a familiar crop of curly brown hair trying to use the bushes as cover. It wasn't exactly working well.

Without pause, Skye took aim and lobbed her snowball at where Fitz was hiding. There was a yelp half a second later just before the engineer popped up to glare at them. He opened his mouth to speak, but a snowball in the face courtesy of Ward left him sputtering instead.

Rapidly, Skye grabbed Ward and pulled him down before she began to gather snow for another snowball. She could feel Ward watching her, but tried not to think about it. Instead, she just handed him the packed snow and grinned. "You've got the better aim."

"Yeah," muttered Ward, a grim look crossing his face before he glanced over the edge of the bush and lobbed the snowball at what Skye assumed was Fitz. "I've been told."

Skye did her best not to grimace, though she couldn't avoid berating herself for being so reckless. Garrett had basically used Ward for his hand-eye coordination and marked fighting skills; she'd been intending to get him involved in the games but instead she'd made it sound like she just wanted him for the same reason.

Scooping up another snowball, Skye popped up quickly and lobbed the ball at what looked like it might be Fitz. A squirrel squeaked unhappily and bolted from the bushes, telling her she'd been anything but dead-on with her aim. It looked pretty unhappy, too.

Beside her, Ward made a noise in his throat that might have been a laugh if he weren't suppressing it so thoroughly. Well, at least her mistake was good for something. Getting Ward to laugh was like pulling teeth sometimes.

Skye shot a glance at Ward, pushing his shoulder slightly. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything," argued Ward, though a smile was pulled across his lips. His smile, his real smile, was enough to make Skye want to melt. She didn't, she had better control than that, but she wanted to.

"I could see you thinking it," countered Skye despite the grin she knew was plastered across her face. "Now help me bury Fitz in snow."

"He's not out here anymore," stated Ward, eyes focused on her. "He went running for the Playground after taking the snowball to the face."

"He's probably getting reinforcements," muttered Skye, glancing towards the base as well. What Fitz could come up with in little to no time was scary; she and Ward should probably make themselves scarce or get some kind of fortifications up. "Run or fight?"

"We could just head inside," suggested Ward with a shrug, his eyes darting around the snow-covered forest again. Something about this made him uncomfortable. It wasn't quite the nervous-uncomfortable that she'd come to easily recognize from Ward, but more like a discomfort with being out in the snow itself. He almost acted like it was trying to kill him.

Without thinking about it, Skye reached out and took Ward's hand. Immediately, his eyes were locked on their joined hands for a moment before rising to meet hers. "Skye?"

"What's wrong, Grant?" asked Skye softly, gently pulling Ward away from the base and further into the woods. She loved Fitz, but the man wasn't the best at reading situations and it was hard enough to get Ward to talk sometimes as things stood; she didn't need Fitz interrupting them with an inopportune snowball.

Ward was quiet for a moment, eyes distant. She could practically see the memories running through his head; it told her whatever this was about, it had to do with Garrett. He only got the far-away look when it had to do with Garrett. Finally, he sighed and pulled her to a stop, his eyes falling back on the Playground behind him.

"Snow can kill you," explained Ward at last, voice quiet and clearly uncomfortable. "Snow, the cold, it's dangerous."

He fell silent again and Skye bit her lip to keep from talking. This was his show and they needed to move at his pace. It was a rule Coulson had set up when Ward first came back and it had proven more useful than trying to force him to talk.

Sure enough, he began talking again a moment later. "When Garrett dropped me in the woods with nothing, it was in Wyoming. There was no permanent shelter, no supplies. He never really brought me any, either. Just expected me to figure it out."

Slowly, Skye nodded as this information sank in. Ward had been living in the woods in Wyoming, likely without a permanent structure for the first year at least. "It snows in Wyoming."

"It snows a lot," confirmed Ward quietly, eyes finally sliding back to hers. "You can freeze to death if you don't have enough protection."

"And you had to worry about that," finished Skye, her eyes softening as the realization of what snow would have meant to him for years. It wasn't a fun place to play, it was an actual risk to his life. Working for SHIELD probably hadn't helped any either. That threat was something he wouldn't be able to shake, either- at least not easily.

"I had stolen a tent from a cabin," admitted Ward quietly. "I thought it might be enough but..." His eyes fell away to the ground. "It was a rough first winter."

Skye didn't really think about it as she released his hand to wrap both of her arms around his body. His own arms rose suddenly for a moment, startled, before slowly falling to settle tentatively around her shoulders. They didn't speak; it wasn't necessary. Ward knew she was sorry for everything he'd faced and he knew she was there to support and help him. Things were still awkward sometimes, but in moment's like this, they were in sync.

"Do you want to go back inside?" offered Skye quietly, shifting her arms to rest around Ward's waist.

He licked his lips a little in the cold, glancing back at the base longingly. But his eyes fell back to her, determination in his eyes. "Not without you."

His need to protect her, even if the snow wasn't going to hurt her, was sweet in a way. It was irritating (she could take care of herself most of the time, damnit), but she recognized it was just who he was all the same. It was one of the parts of Ward that hadn't been an act. "Alright, let's go back inside and warm up. But we're going to come back out later and I will introduce you to the fun part of snow."

A touch of a smile tugged at Ward's lips as she began leading him back to the playground. His fingers slipped to interweave with hers, squeezing slightly through their gloves. "I did grow up in snow, Skye. I am familiar with the fun you can have in it."

"I'm not saying you aren't," assured Skye with a grin, glancing back at him with a mischievous look. "But how many times have you really had the chance to throw things at Fitz or Simmons without worrying about hurting them?" The smile on Ward's face widened a little more; they didn't want to hurt their teammates, but every once in a while it was tempting to chuck something at the science twins when they were making little to no sense. "First though, we're going to get warm. Hot chocolate with peppermint, everything most people do in snow. Okay?"

"That sounds good," admitted Ward quietly, allowing her to lead him inside. "And Skye?" She glanced back at him, tilting her head a little in confusion. Ward offered her a tentative smile. "Thank you."

Skye felt warmth settle through her body, knowing she'd done something to make him feel more at peace, more safe. Garrett and his parents had done so much damage, all she wanted to do most days was help. Offering him a smile in return, Skye pushed the door to the Playground open. "You're welcome, Grant. Now come on, let's get something hot to drink."