This short lil' story is dedicated to Em (quakefire on tumblr!)
Walking into the kitchen and seeing Skye almost completely covered in flour was one of the many things Ward never expected to see in his days of Shield. He recalled once finding both Skye and Fitz listening to well known and annoying pop songs in the interrogation room whilst busying themselves with what seemed to be a board game. He didn't bother asking the reason behind it mainly due to not wanting to know in the first place.
His eyes wandered Skye's flour covered body as she cracked an egg into a plastic bowl, making sure to stir it quickly after. He considered leaving, but the sight in front of him was too good to miss. He could hear soft Christmas tunes playing from the other side of Skye, making him believe the girl was attempting a creation of some sort.
"Do you need some help?" Ward suddenly asked.
Skye was quick to respond by jumping five feet off of the ground and squealing the tiniest bit. Flour flew from her body and slightly sprinkled on Ward's black t-shirt, leaving him to grit his teeth over the mess.
"You scared me!" Skye hissed whilst gently smacking Ward's arm. "And no," She continued. "I do not need help!" She forced, failing to sound convincing.
"Really? You don't sound," He scanned over her body yet again. "nor look so sure." He finished, crossing his arms over his chest and smiling mischievously.
"You need to mind your own business.." Skye muttered, returning to the bowl she was once stirring before the scare.
"Just.." Ward began, scooting next to Skye, taking the spatula out from her hands. "Let me help." He finished, smiling at what looked to be a fuming Skye.
"Why are you so difficult?!" Skye whined, dramatically throwing her hands in the air, leaving more flour to fly from her body.
"You looked stressed." Ward replied, ignoring her tantrum. "Now what are you trying to make? Christmas cookies?" He asked upon noticing the red and green colored sprinkles on the counter. The Christmas music was also a dead giveaway.
"Yeah. Fitz mentioned wanting some and then I remembered we had the ingredients to make a batch so... this happened." Skye answered whilst gesturing to her flour covered self and the bowl of batter.
Ward smiled at the act of kindness but soon laughed from under his breath. "You know we could have just stopped and grabbed some from a store, right?" He asked, stealing a glance at Skye.
"Well, duh, but these are homemade cookies, Ward!" Skye replied enthusiastically. "Nothing beats homemade cookies." She sat up on the counter and stared down at Ward who continued stirring the batter.
Ward smiled over Skye practically calling the bus home. After the few stories told about her being in foster homes, he could imagine it being quite hard calling anything home.
"I was bored anyways." Skye continued, holding the green sprinkles up to her face, examining the tiny specks.
"Where did you learn to make cookies anyways?" Ward dared to ask, glancing at Skye to make sure he didn't make a wrong move. To his surprise, Skye looked relieved over him asking such a question.
"One of my foster parents taught me how." She answered. "There were over five kids including myself in that home. The foster parents.. they offered to teach all of us how to make and bake cookies. I was the only one willing to learn." Skye smiled over the memory.
Ward watched in admiration as Skye shared her story. He couldn't believe such a woman had gone through so much in her life and still managed to smile at least once every day, no matter how much weight she was carrying on her shoulders. It inspired him to be great, to be good. She brought a new life to him, one he couldn't notice himself.
"They even let me lick the bowl afterwards." Skye laughed wholeheartedly, resting her back against the wall behind her. "I had to be six or seven then. I have no idea how I still remember what was taught that day." She giggled with a shrug.
Ward smiled over the sound of Skye giggling and began wondering why she didn't get to stay in the foster home she spoke of. He remembered her sharing the story of a time she called one of her foster parents "mom" that eventually ended with her getting whisked away, as though she had committed a crime of some sort.
"Were they the same foster parents you told me about...?" Ward cautiously asked, afraid that he stepped over crossed line.
Skye stared at him, trying to decipher what he was talking about. "You mean the ones that got rid of me the second I called one 'mom'?" She asked, unfazed by the question.
Ward nodded in response. "You don't have to answer, I was just cu-"
"Ward." Skye interrupted before he could continue. Ward looked at her expectantly and smiled upon understanding. "No, not the same ones." She admitted, sucking in her bottom lip. "These ones.. well, we became too much of a hassle for them." Skye dipped her index finger in the bowl of batter and licked off what she had gathered.
Ward felt goosebumps cover his skin upon watching her do so. It was even just that for him. It was the fact that Skye had just shared what he imagined being one of the hardest things to remember, and played it off as though it were nothing. She continued being her normal, joyful self. Something Ward will never not admire about her.
"You're something else, y'know?" Ward bubbled, finding a pan to put the cookies on.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Skye wondered, exploring Ward's grin, the one she rarely saw.
"I mean.." Ward contemplated his next words, gaping at the ground. "You're just-"
"Hello, Skye, Ward." Jemma greeted the two with a nod whilst entering the kitchen to grab a water bottle.
Skye frowned upon not hearing what Ward had to say and leaped down from the counter.
"Fitz was bugging me to come check on the cookies." Jemma revealed, examining the cookies now being rolled into balls and placed on the pan Ward had grabbed. "Ah.. he won't be happy." The british woman informed with a nervous smile.
"What? Why?" Skye bugged with widened eyes. A moment of worry crossed her mind as she began questioning what she could have possibly done wrong. "Do they look bad? Maybe the um, the milk is bad? Is that it?" She worried.
"No, no, Skye. Everything is okay!" Jemma reassured the brunette. "It's just, Fitz is impatient. I'm afraid to break the news that the cookies aren't done yet." She sighed.
"Why not throw on a Christmas movie? That will surely distract him." Skye hinted with a shrug.
"Well, he does have a huge soft spot for Elf..." Jemma commented, nudging Skye. "I'll go see how it goes! Come join us once the cookies are in!" She finished, running off to Fitz.
Both Skye and Ward watched in amusement as the scientist ran off, leaving the two alone yet again. Ward silently hoped Skye wouldn't mention what he was talking about before Jemma interrupted him. Skye, on the other hand hoped Ward would carry on from where he left off and indulge her in whatever he had to say.
"Just about done here." Ward cut in, placing the last bit of cookie batter on the pan.
"Cool beans." Skye piped, placing her chin on Ward's shoulder.
Ward nearly jumped from the contact but luckily managed to bite his tongue instead. A delicious strawberry scent filled his nose whilst warm breath traveled down his neck and under his t-shirt. Chills ran down his spine as he hurried to finish the last bit of the batter, wanting to remove the close contact he now had with Skye as quickly as possible.
"I'm going to go change into something cleaner." Skye announced, calming Ward down as she removed herself from him. "You better come watch the movie with us once you're done, or else." Skye warned, waving a finger in Ward's direction.
"Or else, what?" Ward questioned with a smirk.
"As Coulson would say, that's classified, Agent Ward!" Skye hollered from outside the kitchen.
Ward was left alone to grin from ear to ear. The impact this one woman had on him scared him more than he would ever admit to.
An hour or so passed since Jemma and Fitz started up the movie. Both Skye and Ward eventually joined the two to watch as well. Jemma and Fitz were sat on the floor, leaned up against the couch that Skye and Ward accompanied. Skye lay on her back, with her feet propped up on Ward's lap, something that Ward didn't mind as much as he thought he would. He acted as though it were an everyday thing and placed his arms over top of her feet and sat back, enjoying the movie himself.
The comfortable mood that once filled the room was interrupted by the smell of something burning. Everyone became aware of it, and only Fitz volunteered to check the source considering everyone else had been more invested on the movie displayed in front of them. The same movie Fitz had to see about fifty times now, unlike everyone else.
It didn't take long for Skye to notice the meaning behind the smell after Fitz had left. With widened eyes, she looked at Ward.
"The cookies." She whispered.
Ward responded the same way as Skye, with widened eyes.
"MY BLOODY COOKIES!"