This story changes the ages of the characters and makes them a little younger than they would normally be. Read and review. If you read any of my other fics, I apologize for the delay but I am having writers block.

Chapter 1

Skye was a genius. Normally, most would be in awe. Not for Skye. Living in foster care leaves one with no one that knows anything about you and a lot of trust issues. Skye kept her genius abilities a secret until she finally got out of the system at fourteen. Well she didn't get out, she ran away. Using her abilities in computer sciences, she hacked into rich people's offshore accounts and set up a bank account in DC to keep her money safe. With her new credit card and identity she had just forged. Now she went from fourteen to sixteen. Using the new identity and money, the first thing she did was buy a van for herself to live in

For Skye life was now at a high point. She was on her own and was set up so that she wouldn't be set back up in the system. The exhaustion of setting herself up in her new life managed to keep away most of the nightmares. That was soon to change. The beginning of her third week alone was the first time. The nightmare hurt her in ways that she wasn't sure she was ever going to get past. Luckily, the injuries she had received before leaving were finally healing. The scars from the years that covered twenty percent of her body and the memories would never leave her.

Though Skye was now on her own and could finally live her life, her way.

~Two years later~

Skye has been having a decent two years. She got to explore most of America before stopping at DC for a while. Her identity she made up seemed to be working most of the time. For not actually having papers anywhere, her license, while fake said she was eighteen. In actuality, Skye was only recently turned sixteen but nobody needed to know that. Skye had gotten very good at getting people to think that she was older than she actually was. Though that probably had to do with growing up in the system and the fact that you had to grow up faster than anyone truly wanted to.

Her days were going well now though.

Skye was at a local cafe in DC using the the WI-FI when she found someone else was trying to hack. The technique was good but they were going to get caught before they got through. This would have also get Skye caught from where she was hacking into NASA. (Skye may be sixteen but she was also a genius at engineering. And rocketships are cool.) Locating where the person was sitting Skye quickly got up and walked to the table in the back corner.

As she approached she saw a woman who looked to be about twenty-one was sitting very straight backed while typing into the computer. Due to her very good eyesight Skye could see she was about to be caught. Quickly sliding into the booth next to her. Skye grabbed the laptop and started typing away.

"What are you doing?!" The woman exclaimed in a whisper.

Skye froze for a couple seconds before stating. "Your typing is to slow and when you get caught so will I."

Once the other women heard the words she immediately froze as well. It took a few minutes to come back to what is happening. Looking over the shoulder of her newly found soulmate. The first thing she saw was that her soulmate was almost into the Pentagon main system. She was surprised as a part of SHIELD she had seen the members from the top ten percent at the communications academy get from where she was at the first firewall to the tenth in the three days but the woman next to her did it in five minutes. Taking a clear look at her new found soulmate she saw a girl who looked no older than eighteen. Compared to her twenty-three years this was a large change. Anyways deciding to think about that another time she saw brown hair that flowed down around her shoulders. A slight asian tilt to the facial features. Looking farther down she saw a slim and fit body that looked a really nice. As she was going to move farther down something on her soulmates arm caught her eyes. On the one closest to her there were scars all along the arm. Shocked she looked at the other arm and saw the same thing. From her training at SHIELD she was able to tell that some were self- inflicted while others were done to her. Luckily, they all seemed to be a couple years old. Pulled from her thoughts she found her soulmate had asked her something.

"Huh, what?"

"Heh. I asked what you were looking for so that I can close this because they are already onto us." Skye said.

"Oh. I need a case file labeled 1-983-465-2763." Maria listed since she knew, she wouldn't be able to find the file and not get caught.

Skye just nodded a minute later she was pulling a blank flash drive from her pocket and was copying the file over. Pulling the drive out of the computer she set it down on the table and quickly maneuvered out of the Pentagon system. Handing over the flash drive Skye got up and started packing her things into her bag.

"Well as nice as it was to meet my soulmate, I have to go. You should work on those computer skills before doing that again or you will get caught." Skye said about to leave the table.

"Wait. Meet me at this address at seven tonight. I want to talk to you."

"Fine…" Skye started.

"Maria. Maria Hill."

"Ok Maria. I will be there at seven." She was about to leave when she was stopped again.

"Can I get your name, soulmate." Maria asked with amusement in her eyes.

"Skye. Just Skye."

Leaving the building Skye made her way to her van and started heading to her small apartment that she had recently bought. Once she was home she took a look at the address she was giving. Checking Google maps to find out where she was going she saw that the building was of the higher end towards the center of the city. Once she was done with that, Skye was very bored. She really wanted to look up information about her soulmate but didn't want to start off on the wrong foot with her. Instead, she sat on the couch and binge-watched The 100 till she had to leave.

~Later that Day~

Skye was standing outside the door. She was working up the nerve to knock on the door. "Come on Skye. Knock on the door. You ran away from foster care at fourteen after putting up with mental and physical abuse. You can knock on the damn door." Deciding that her inner conscience was correct, Skye finally knocked on the door. After a minute, Maria had opened the door and was wearing comfortable jeans and a t-shirt. She seemed to be an inch shorter than Skye.

"Hi Skye. Come on in." Maria said as she opened the door wider.

Skye stepped through the threshold, and was instantly assaulted with the smell of something from the kitchen.

"I hope you don't mind, I made spaghetti for dinner because I haven't eaten yet. Are you hungry?" Maria asked.

"Uh yeah. I haven't eaten yet today." Skye said surprised.

For Skye it was slightly overwhelming to have someone all of a sudden taking care of her. Or at least offering her something after sixteen years of defending herself from starvation.

Maria seemed to sense how slightly overwhelmed Skye was with just the idea of someone offering her food. At first she was slightly confused as to why that would be. Then she remembered the scars on her arms. Deciding to use some of her SHIELD training, she grabbed Skye's hands and dragged her into the kitchen. Setting her down at the table, Maria grabbed a couple sodas out of the fridge and handed them to Skye. Taking a sip from the drink, Maria went to check on the noodles.

"If you want to point out the plates and utensils, I can set the table." Skye suggested as she fidgeted in her seat.

"Sure. They are in the cupboard to the right of the sink and the drawer right below that." Maria said.

Skye got up and made her way towards the cabinet and took her time to look around the kitchen. The cabinets were a nice white while the counters were a black granite. Stainless steel appliances all around the apartment. The island was a nice mahogany high table that could comfortably sit three people and have plenty of storage underneath. Grabbing the plates and utensils Skye headed back to the island and set up the plates how she remembered from her days in the foster care system. As she had finished Maria started bringing over the food. Once they both had their food on their plates they started eating and the kitchen was mostly silent. Not uncomfortably so.

"So, the reason I wanted you to come by was so that I could get to know my soulmate. So could you tell me a little bit about yourself?" Maria asked. Though she raised her eyebrow when she saw how Skye froze.

"Look, Maria. There is nothing more that would make me happy than to get to know you and vice versa, but I had a horrible childhood and I know you know that. So it might take me a while to open up to you." Skye explained.

"How do you know I know that?" Maria asked.

"I saw that you were looking at the scars back at the diner. I can easily read people. I had to, if I wanted to survive past the age of six. I know that you were shocked by them but if we are going to make this work then I need you to be patient with me."

"I can do that as long as you take into account that my job is dangerous and will put you in danger. I saw your hacking skill in that diner and I don't want you to unnecessarily get hurt. Do you know self-defense?" Maria asked.

"I know enough to get away from a guy that is aggressively hitting on me." Skye said.

"Ok well, I will teach you everything I know. We can use it as a bonding thing to get to know one another." Maria suggested.

"I can work with that. Though, why do I feel like you could easily kill me though?" Skye asked.

"Oh, I could. In about twenty seconds with everything that is in here. How fit are you?" Maria asked.

"I can run 1600 meters three minutes and thirty seconds. So pretty fit." Skye said.

"Good, then let's do some basic self-defense after dinner."

Nodding her head, kye went to finish her dinner. Throughout the rest of dinner Skye and Maria just made small talk the entire time. By the time they finished they were both a little anxious to do some basic self-defense together. Getting up they both brought their dishes to the sink and quickly brought them into the dishwasher. Once they were done with that they both headed out to the spacious guest bedroom and quickly laid down the mats on the floor.

"Ok the first hold I'm going to show you is how to get away and knock someone out if they attack you from behind." Maria explained. Instead Skye just nodded. Maria walked up behind her and all of a sudden threw her arms around her. Skye not knowing what to do, started to freak out. Maria saw this and in a soothing manner, started to explain what Skye needed to do. After a minute Skye calmed down enough that she was able to successfully perform the task of breaking the hold. After about ten tries Skye was performing the maneuver perfectly and was waiting for more.

"Let's move onto boxing now." Maria suggested. She was surprised by the amount of strength. Skye possessed as well as how quickly she was picking up the fight moves. If she didn't know any better, she would think that Skye was a super soldier. Though that would be impossible because of the fact that the serum was last after it was used on Captain America.

While Maria was lost in her thoughts Skye was already doing the combinations that Maria had just shown her. Which added to the Maria's curiosity even more because of the fact that Skye was picking up fighting like bees are attracted to pollen.

"Hey Skye." Maria began. Skye was so focused on the bag that all she did was hum in response. "Can I ask what your parents do?"

Skye punched the bag so hard that her hand actually ripped through the leather. Maria was super shocked and just looked at the bag. Now absolutely convinced that Skye has powers, or at least the super soldier serum.

"Remember when I told you that I had a rough childhood?" Skye asked with a sigh. Once Maria nodded her confirmation, Skye continued. "I grew up in the system. I was dropped off at the orphanage when I was just a baby. I don't know anything about where I come from. Not even my actual birthday. So to answer your question I don't know who or what they do." Skye explained.

"I'm sorry Skye. I didn't mean to bring up negative emotions."

"Don't worry about it. I'm out on my own and I am doing better now than I ever was in the system. For example, I know I will get at least one meal a day now." Skye laughed bitterly.

"Sorry, you had to go through that Skye."

"Not your fault. You had no part in it."

"How about we do something else since the punching bag is now destroyed. We can pop in a movie. If you want?" Maria suggested.

At Skye's eager nod she laughed and got up and went into the living room with Skye trailing behind her. When they got there they popped in Pacific Rim and got settled onto the couch.

"By the way, the next time I come over for self-defense I hope we don't just get sweaty from the workout." Skye said with a cheeky grin on her face. The only thing Maria could do was blush only.

Throughout the movie they had subconsciously moved closer and closer together as they sat there. By the end of the movie they were both asleep and cuddled together on the couch.

~Six months later~

Maria was shocked by how far Skye had come. In the span of six months since their first dinner, Skye was able to master most weapons and was practically on par with the Black Widow - maybe that is just speculation for now. Also her proficiency with a gun was improving remarkably well. She was almost on par with Hawkeye. Though she didn't like them very much.

Due to the time they were spending together Maria has already fallen in love with Skye. She knows Skye feels the same. They said it to each other during the second month and was then followed by two days in bed. Maria was on a high of love but she knew that it couldn't last. When you work with SHIELD relations almost never existed. Especially for those in charge.

Maria knew it was going to happen someday and she been putting it off for a week. Today she had to break up with Skye. Technically, it wasn't against SHIELD policy to date someone but when you were just given the position of Deputy Director of an elite spy organization then having a soulmate could get them killed. Which is why Maria was ending things. She loved Skye too much to let her get killed over her job.

Maria was brought out of her musing by the doorbell.

"Hey, babe." Skye said as she walked in and gave Maria a peck on the lips. "You wanted to discuss something."

"Skye we can't see each other anymore." Maria said deciding to be blunt with Skye.

"What? Why?" Skye asked shocked. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you have been perfect. These past six months have been the greatest of my life, but I got a promotion and I can't risk your life with my job." Maria tried to explain.

"That is a load of bullshit, Maria. I can now take care of myself thanks to your training. Don't let SHIELD take away what is between us." Skye exclaimed angrily.

"How did you know I work for SHIELD?" Maria asked suspiciously.

"Don't look at me that way. You left a file out when I came over one day so I put two and two together."

"Please tell me, you did not hack into SHIELD." Maria begged.

"I did. Several times. Your security and firewalls is horrible." Skye said with a satisfied smirk.

"Skye, you can't keep doing that. It will put you in danger."

"You trained me! And I will keep doing that. I love you, I will make sure you are okay!" Skye exclaimed.

"No you won't. This is exactly why I am breaking up with you. I don't want you to put yourself at risk anymore." Maria said.

"Fine, then. You will realize this is a mistake and I can't guarantee that I will come back to you." Skye said with tears falling down her face.

The image of Skye with tears and those words froze Maria completely still. Skye already upset enough made her way for the doors and left the apartment. The moment the door slammed shut Maria knew that she had made a mistake. She wanted to run after Skye but wasn't sure if she was welcome anymore. Getting up and collapsing on her bed Maria knew Skye's words were going to haunt her for the rest of her life.

~Two Months Later~

It's been two months since Maria had broken up with Skye. In that time SKye had found out that some hacking group was trying to hack SHIELD. So naturally Skye had to join. These people might get Maria or someone close to her killed. Maria might have broke her heart but that doesn't mean Skye will let anything hurt her that she could prevent. Which got exceptionally harder a month and a half ago after the Chitauri invaded. With the world now truly aware of SHIELD, Skye's job got a lot harder. Though Skye was doing very well at covering her tracks on getting the various members of the Rising Tide sent to jail for hacking into the government. Luckily for Skye the only real threat that to hacking into SHIELD was a guy named Miles, who was constantly trying to get into her pants despite her saying no multiple times, he was the only one with any kind of chance of getting in. Though his skill only really extended to level one, which was the most basic information. Skye was heartbroken but was managing to keep her soulmate safe.

~ A week later~

Skye was currently in a department store getting some new clothes and medical supplies. She was pretty sure that at least her ribs were cracked and a couple broken. The cuts on her arms and stomach, back and legs would need to be wrapped as well. Skye didn't know how anyone found out that she had supplied the names for the Rising Tide members to SHIELD. Now she was just tortured by the thugs of the organization. Seriously, it's hacker organization it doesn't need muscled thugs. Well, I guess it does since Skye was supplying names to SHIELD. Though now she has to infiltrate SHIELD. That is opening a can of worms that Skye isn't ready to open. Hopefully if she can get picked up by the right people then it might make it easier for her to not get killed by the Rising Tide.

~Two days later~

Skye was sitting in her van. She had just gotten back from talking to Mike Peterson. Despite saying that he shouldn't go to SHIELD, the piece of paper that she slid him, would hopefully convince him to go to SHIELD to get help. Though knowing people the way she does, she knows he is too paranoid from whatever gave him powers that he would never go to them by himself. Hopefully, it wouldn't get him killed and leave his son without a father.

While Skye was lost in her thoughts she was coming up with the code for her newest Rising Tide post. Luckily, she wouldn't have to make more of these videos soon if SHIELD would finally pick up on her "mistake" in her coding already.

Just as she was halfway through her post, the van door opened. Standing there was Phil Coulson and another agent. To say she was surprised to see Coulson was an understatement. Though she was still able to get out a, "What up?"