When all was said and done, Ward decided he didn't want to be a part of SHIELD anymore. He had helped the agency take down Hydra (as part of his redemption, even though he still didn't believe he deserves forgiveness) and then quit, something he had told Coulson about upfront. Ward wanted a chance to figure out who he was now that Garrett was no longer in the picture and he was finally free from his abuser(s). Needless to say, he was quite surprised when, after saying goodbye to the team (he promised to come back and visit them soon), he found Skye in his car. He squinted his eyes at her. "What the hell are you doing?"

She grinned at him. "I took a leave of absence from SHIELD - Coulson approved and everything." Skye didn't mention to Ward that she wasn't sure if she was coming back either.

"Okay. Why?" Ward questioned, still caught off guard.

Skye sighed and rolled her eyes. "Get with the program, Ward. I'm going on this soul-searching road trip with you! We're going to have a lot of fun."

"Again, why?" This was the last thing he had expected and now Ward was floundering. Why would she even want to go with him in the first place?

"Because you're my friend. That's why." She deliberately omitted the fact that she was still in love with him because she wasn't quite ready to take the next step yet - they were still working through a lot of issues in the aftermath of Hydra's uprising (and subsequent fall).

He didn't quite believe her but didn't want to rock the boat either. "Fine. Let's go. Do you have a destination in mind for our first stop?"

"You didn't have a plan?" Skye asked, surprised.

"I wanted to be spontaneous for once in my life," Ward confessed, a little ashamed.

She grinned at him and patted his shoulder. "Good for you. Let's go, Robot."

"Whatever you say, Rookie." Shit, was he getting too comfortable already? He didn't want to upset their fragile friendship. The thought scared the shit out of him. But she just beamed at him and he was actually able to calm down.

Three days later, the two of them stopped at a gas station to grab some snacks because Skye wouldn't shut up about how hungry she was. "I told you we should have stopped an hour and a half ago," she complained, only a little bit irritated.

"We didn't need to stop an hour and a half ago. You still had M&M's," he pointed out, amused.

"That's beside the point, Grant Douglas," she snapped.

"Ooh, middle name! You must be serious," Ward teased, glad they had already fallen into a rhythm. It was nice, even though they drove each other up the wall seventy-five percent of the time.

She glared at him as she grabbed a hot dog from the machine. "I love gas station hot dogs!"

"Seriously?" he asked, not at all surprised but still a little disgusted.

"Get that stick out of your ass, Ward. You're supposed to be enjoying this," she told him as she picked up some ketchup packets. She headed towards the candy aisle and picked up some more snacks before making her way to the cashier.

Ward paid for them (without any more complaints) and then they headed back to the car. "We'll stop and eat a real meal later tonight," he promised her, feeling guilty (and disgusted) about her gas station food.

"Good. You're a nice but somewhat annoying road trip partner. I'm glad I decided to come," she told him with a smile on her face.

Skye's hot dog was not as good as she hoped it would be and Ward had to listen to her whine about it for four hours but he really didn't give a shit. He just loved spending this much time with her. And true to his word, they stopped at Cracker Barrel and ate a real meal later that night.

They found a motel for the night and settled into the big bed they had to share since everything else was booked up. "I can take the floor," he offered for the tenth time.

"Shut up and go to sleep, Ward. We're adults - we can handle this," Skye assured him, even though she was a little worried herself.

"Are you sure?" he teased.

"Shut up!" She sighed and turned around to face him, suddenly serious. "You doing okay? I know you've been talking to your therapist whenever you have the chance, and I'm worried." Skye just wanted to make sure he didn't fall apart again - he deserved this second chance he had been granted and she wanted to make sure that he was okay - mentally and physically. She was rooting for him to succeed and redeem himself.

He smiled despite himself. "Thanks for asking. I'm taking it step by step, day by day. That's all I can ask for. And the guilt is a constant companion but I've been used to it for a long fucking time. I still can't believe Fitzsimmons forgave me." He had fallen apart that day, which set them off, and the three of them were a mess when May found them. She had taken one look at them and then had surprisingly hugged them (Ward hadn't been expecting it and it only made him cry even harder. Needless to say, Skye was the only one who had been able to calm them all down).

"You deserve this second chance, Grant. Don't you ever doubt that," she whispered, tearing up.

"Thanks, Skye," he replied, touched.

"You're welcome, Ward." She hoped she had been able to help him.

He wanted to kiss her so bad but really didn't want to fuck anything up - her friendship meant more to him than anything. Refusing to make a move, he stiffened up. "Are you going back to SHIELD?"

Skye shook her head. "I don't think so. And surprisingly, it was an easy decision to leave the agency behind." She didn't think she'd ever regret it - although Coulson still needed to be told she wasn't coming back. She suspected the others knew already.

"You didn't have to do that for me, Skye."

"I didn't just do it for you, Grant Douglas. It was my choice alone. Things haven't been the same since SHIELD fell."

He winced. "Sorry."

"You don't have to keep apologizing," Skye reminded him. She started rubbing his arm to calm him down and it worked a little bit. Quickly making up her mind, Skye kissed him. "I love you," she admitted.

"Wait, really?" he asked, his voice cracking.

"Of course I do. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

Ward choked back a sob. "I love you too, Skye." He couldn't believe this was really happening.

She kissed him again, and then the two of them reluctantly decided to get some sleep so they could head out early the next morning.

This road trip had turned out to be the best idea either of them had had in the longest time. And needless to say, no one on the team was surprised when Ward and Skye ended up in Vegas - and eloped while there. They finally settled down in Los Angeles and got normal jobs six months after they first left. Leading a life away from SHIELD worked out better than expected for them, although they definitely missed their family.