Hey babes! Glad you all loved the first installment. Here's the next one for ya. This prompt was: SHIELD Academy. Academy Days is the best title I could come up with.

Also, before anyone says anything to me about how this isn't what SHIELD Academy is really like, based off of what we know from the show and stuff, this is an AU. And it's kind of my interpretation of the Academy. So deal with it. :)

Hope you enjoy!


"Is this seat taken?"

Skye looks up from her phone to see a raven haired girl gesturing to the seat next to her. "Go ahead," Skye smiles at her.

"Thanks," the girl smiles back, sitting in the chair. "I'm Kara, by the way. Kara Palamas."

"Skye. No last name."

Kara furrows her brows.

"Orphan," Skye explains.

"Oh, wow. I'm sorry."

Skye waves her off, "Don't be. It's all I've ever known."

"Oh, okay. So how did SHIELD recruit you?"

"I hacked them a couple of times and they figured out who I was. Told me if I joined the Academy I'd learn to 'expand my skills and hone them for good'. Or something along those lines," she lets out a small laugh.

Kara laughs quietly as well. "So you're in Communications Academy, then?" Kara asks her.

"Yep. What about you?"

"Operations."

"Isn't that the one where the most kids wash out of?"

Kara shrugs, "I guess so. But I'm hoping to not be one of those kids."

"Yeah. How did SHIELD recruit you?"

"I took a lot of martial arts classes growing up, as well as a few language classes that came pretty easy to me. While I was in my senior year of high school, some agents came and told me that SHIELD thinks I have potential."

"Seems like SHIELD thinks we both might have something to offer."

"Yes it does," Kara smiles.

"Oh, hello," a female voice speaks up.

Kara and Skye both turn to see a girl about their age with light brown, wavy hair standing in front of them.

"Hey," Skye smiles kindly at her.

"Hi," the girl smiles back nervously. "May I sit there?" She points to the empty seat on the other side of Skye.

"Sure," Skye smiles.

The girl smiles as she sits down, turning to face Skye and Kara. "I'm Jemma Simmons," she says.

"Kara Palamas. That's Skye."

"No last name?" Jemma inquires of Skye.

Skye shakes her head, "Orphan."

"Oh, well. It's very nice to meet the both of you."

"You too," Skye smiles. "Which academy are you in?"

"Sci-Tech," Jemma responds.

"Ooh, nice," Kara says. "You must be pretty smart to be going there."

"I don't like to brag," Jemma tells them. "But I do already have one PhD, which is required to even be admitted into the school."

"You're such a nerd," Skye says.

"What?" Jemma's eyes widen.

"Oh, no no no," Skye rushes, seeing the look on Jemma's face. "I didn't mean it in any cruel way. Just in a jokey way, cause you're so young, but obviously really smart. That's all, honestly."

"Right, I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," Skye apologizes. "I forget that people here aren't used to me. I like to think of myself as an acquired taste. I take some getting used to," she smiles and leans back in her chair.

Jemma smiles and laughs quietly, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Oh, I meant to ask, which academy are the two of you attending?"

"I'm at Operations," Kara tells her.

"Communications," Skye adds.

"That's nice, one from each academy," Jemma smiles.

"Yeah," Kara smiles. "And hey, even though the three of us are going to be in different academies, we can still be friends."

"Of course," Skye smiles. "My first two official friends at the academy, I feel like I'm off to a great start already."

"Same here," Jemma smiles back.

"Alright cadets, listen up please."

Skye, Kara, and Jemma all turn to face the front of the biggest lecture hall, ready to listen to the introduction to the Academy.


"Hey there, hot stuff," Kara says as she approaches Skye.

Skye looks up from her laptop at Kara, "Hey sexy. What's up?"

"Not much. Just got done with some training. It was brutal."

Skye nods her head, "Mm-hmm. I can tell by the workout clothes, the messy hair, and then many beads of sweat on your brow."

Kara smiles, "Yes, it's very hard work. But I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end once I'm granted agent status. Then I'll get to go out and start kicking some bad guy butt."

Skye chuckles, "Slow your roll. We're still only in our first year. We've got three more to go."

"I know," she leans back into the bench and lifts her water bottle to her lips. She swallows, "So, what are you working on?"

"Just some stuff for one of my classes. Well, actually, I finished the stuff for class about twenty minutes ago. Now I'm just kind of browsing." She shuts the lid of her laptop and turns to face Kara, "What are you up to?"

"I can't just come and visit my best friend whenever I want to?"

"I suppose you can," Skye smiles. "Oh, I meant to tell you earlier, we're meeting Jemma at the Boiler Room on Friday."

"Cool. Maybe some of the other guys in Ops who are there will want to spar with me."

"Maybe," Skye replies. "Speaking of guys, major hottie spotted just ahead."

Kara looks to where Skye is staring to see a tall man wearing a suit walking across the grass. "Oh, yeah, Cadet Ward."

Skye whips her head towards Kara, "Wait, you know him?"

"Kind of. He's in his third year at Operations. I've seen him around a few times. Sometimes he helps out in one of my classes."

"He looks like he can handle himself very well," Skye smiles.

"Yeah, he's pretty good at hand-to-hand. I overheard one of the instructors say they think he might be as good as Romanoff."

"Seriously?" Skye raises an eyebrow. "Wow, that's pretty impressive."

"Yeah, he's one of the top cadets in his class."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out. So he's a third year Operations cadet?"

Kara nods her head, "Mm-hmm."

"Kara, I think I'm going to be hanging out around the Operations campus a whole lot more."


"Damn it!" Skye shouts as she trips over her own feet, dropping her laptop into the grass.

"Are you alright?"

Looking up, Skye sees Ward standing in front of her, his brows furrowed.

She brushes some of her hair out of her face, "Um, yeah. I'm good. Just glad I tripped in the grass instead of the pavement?"

"Why's that?" He asks.

"Laptop," she tells him, picking up her computer and holding it in her arms. She stands up and looks at him, "Laptop plus pavement is not necessarily a good thing."

"I would imagine not," Ward replies.

"So a friend of mine told me you're like the next Romanoff. That true?"

Ward shrugs, "Possibly. However, I don't consider myself qualified enough to measure my own skills as a cadet against those of a Level 8 Agent."

"Wow, that sounded kind of rehearsed. Do they teach all you Operations cadets to say that? Was that programmed in? Are you a robot?"

Ward furrows his brows, "I don't—I'm not a robot."

"That's exactly what a robot would say," Skye says conspiratorially.

"Don't you have somewhere to be, Rookie?"

"Rookie?" she raises an eyebrow.

He nods his head, "Yes. Rookie. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some place I need to be."

"Yeah, sure. I see my friends anyways. Catch ya later, Robot," she calls over her shoulder as she walks away from him.

"Who were you just talking to?" Jemma asks Skye when she reaches her and Kara.

"Cadet Ward," Skye smiles. "He's even cuter up close."

"Oh really," Kara says.

Skye nods her head, "Mm-hmm."


"Palamas."

Looking up, Kara sees Ward making his way toward her. "Ward," she replies with a curt nod of her head.

He stops in front of her, "Cadet Skye. What do you know about her?"

"Why are you asking?"

"I'm curious," he replies. "She's around Operations campus quite a bit even though she attends Communications."

"We're really good friends," Kara tells her. "That's why she's around a lot."

"Even when you're not around?"

Kara shrugs, "Sometimes she gets done with her stuff early and likes to wait for me so we can hang out and stuff."

"Well can you tell her to leave me alone?"

"What?"

"She's always standing outside the building whenever I get done with training. And she's always making some sort of joke about me being a robot. And I'd really appreciate it if she'd top."

"Then why don't you tell her yourself?"

"I don't know if you've noticed or not, but my people skills aren't the greatest."

"You seem to be doing just fine right now."

"Yes, well, it's a rare sight. Could you just ask your friend to leave me alone?"

"I can try," Kara tells him. "But I don't know how good it'll do."

"Thank you," he says. "I'll see you in training."

"Yeah," Kara nods her head, watching as Ward walks away back towards the Operations building.

"Hey there."

"Hey," Kara looks up to see Skye walking towards her. "What's up?"

Skye shrugs, "Not much. My classes are getting really boring. I already know how to do most of the stuff they're teaching."

"But we're only in our first year," Kara points out. "You've still got three more years of stuff to learn."

"Yeah, I know there's still three more years. But I mean, come on, I've already cracked SHIELD's firewalls twice. What else can they really teach me?"

Kara smiles, "Yes, I know. You've only brought it up about ten times."

Skye shrugs.

Kara laughs quietly. "Alright, well, I have something to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"Ward came over here just before you did, to talk to me about you."

"Intrigue peeked," Skye smiles as she sits up straighter. "What did he say?"

"Basically, he wants you to stop waiting outside the Ops building for him."

Skye throws her head back and lets out a laugh. When she brings her head back down, she smiles at Kara, "Oh man. This is great. Now I'm definitely going to keep waiting outside for him whenever I can. Just to push his buttons. See if I can make a robot explode."

Kara sighs and rolls her eyes, "He didn't say anything, but I'm pretty sure he could do without the robot jokes."

"If he wasn't so robotic all the time, I wouldn't make the jokes. Plus, he calls me Rookie whenever he sees me, what's that all about?"

"A rookie is basically a newbie."

"Then why doesn't he just say newbie?"

Kara shrugs, "I don't know. Rookie's a pretty common phrase. They don't use it at Communications?"

Skye shakes her head, "Not really."

"Oh, okay."

"Yeah. Now come on," Skye stands up and looks down at Kara. "Jemma's been holed up in the labs all day and probably needs some girl time."

"Yeah, alright," Kara stands up as well. "But just so I understand, you aren't going to leave Ward alone?"

Skye smiles and shakes her head, "Nope."


"Woo hoo!" Skye exclaims as she steps out the front doors of the Communications Academy building, her bag hanging off her shoulder. "Summer vacay!"

"Do you always have to be this excited about everything?" One of her fellow Communications cadets asks her as he steps past her through the doors.

"Come on, Johnny," she says to the man, "you can't honestly say that you're not excited for summer vacation."

"It's only for a few weeks," he reminds Skye. "Then we have to be back learning more things."

"I know that," she says back. "But it's summer vacation! Literally the greatest thing on the planet."

"Yeah, okay," Johnny says slowly. "I'll see you when classes start back up," he gives her a small wave as he makes his way towards the parking lot towards his car.

Smiling to herself, Skye makes her way across the lawn towards the Operations building, hiking her bag further up onto her shoulder as she walks.

Once she reaches the front of the building, she leans up against a tree nearby, waiting for Kara to walk out the doors. She pulls her phone out and scours through the internet, looking at random things.

"What are you doing here?"

Skye looks up to see Ward standing in front of her, a backpack hiked up on his shoulder.

"Hey Robot," she smiles at him.

He sighs, "I see the nickname hasn't stopped."

"Not in a million years," Skye smirks. "And as for why I'm here, I'm waiting for Kara. We're heading down to the beach for the summer."

"You mean the three weeks the Academy gives us to ourselves before classes start back up again?"

Skye nods her head, "Yep. Kara, Jemma, and I are heading down to the beach to hang out. I'd invite you to come with us, but if you got in the water, you'd probably fry all your wiring."

He sighs again, "Alright, well, I have to go now."

"Hey Ward," Kara greets him as she walks up to where he and Skye are standing.

"Palamas," Ward nods his head once at her in greeting.

Kara looks at Skye, "You ready to get Jemma and head to the beach?"

Skye nods her head, "Of course. These three weeks are going to be the best ever."

"I am so ready for the beach," Kara smiles.

"Which beach are you guys heading to?" Ward asks them.

"It's not too far from here actually," Kara tells him. "Closest beach to us."

"Cool, well, have fun with that."

"Oh we will," Skye smiles. "What will you be doing during the three weeks off?"

Ward shrugs, "Probably just some camping in the woods nearby."

"Seriously?" Skye raises an eyebrow. "Wow, okay." She looks over at Kara, "You ready to go get Jemma?"

"Yeah. Bye Ward," Kara waves to him as he and Skye begin walking away.

"Bye Robot," Skye calls over her shoulder.

Ward lets the tiniest hint of a smile grace his lips as he shakes his head and walks away towards the parking lot.


"I can't believe we only have a week left of vacation before we have to go back," Skye says to Kara and Jemma as the three friends lie together on the beach, tanning.

"I know," Kara sighs. "As much as I'm excited to go back and learn more things, I really, really love the summertime."

"Me too," Skye replies.

"I don't know," Jemma speaks up. "I haven't really been one to find the appeal to spending all my time outdoors in the sunlight. I much prefer to be inside, doing science."

"Of course you would," Skye says teasingly, "you're a total nerd. Those of us cool kids who actually like to enjoy life, are glad to be outside soaking up the sun."

"Am I a cool kid?"

Looking up behind her, Skye sees Ward standing barefoot in the sand, his backpack hanging off of one shoulder.

"Cadet Ward," Skye smiles, "what are you doing here?"

He shrugs, "I figured two weeks alone in the woods was enough time. So I decided to come and see how cool the beach was."

"Have you ever been to the beach before?" Skye asks him.

He shakes his head, "My family was never really the beach going type."

"At least you had a family," Skye mutters.

"What?"

"I'm an orphan," Skye tells him. "No family."

"Oh, well. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she says back. "I've long since moved past it."

"Alright," he nods his head. He moves forward and sits down in the sand, setting his backpack down beside him. "So, what are we going to do now?"

"Just sit back and relax," Kara tells him.

"I think I can do that."


"Hey, what are you still doing out here? It's getting late."

Skye looks up from where she sits on the beach to find Ward looking down at her.

"I know," she smiles. "But I like to sit and watch the stars sometimes. It's peaceful."

"Mind if I sit with you?" he asks.

"If you want to," she shrugs.

Silently, Ward steps forward and sits down next to Skye, pulling his knees up and resting his arms on them. "So," he speaks up after a few minutes of silence, "how do you like the Academy?"

Skye shrugs, "It's good. I'm only in Communications, so it's not too difficult. It also helps that everything is pretty easy, considering I already know how to do most of it."

"So I take it you're pretty good with computers?"

Skye nods her head, "I like to think so. I mean, I did break past SHIELD's firewalls twice while living in a van in LA."

"You did?" he raises an eyebrow.

She nods her head, "Yep. That's kind of what got me onto their radar and why they recruited me. Something about wanting to teach me how to hone my skills."

"And are you? Honing your skills?"

Skye shrugs, "I might be."

"That's good. Maybe you'll learn how to use your skills to help people."

"Maybe I will," Skye smiles. "You're in your third year, right?"

He nods his head, "I am. I'll be in my fourth year once we get back to the Academy."

"And how do you like being at the top of your class?"

"Who told you I'm at the top of my class?"

"Kara. She's at Operations as well and she told me that you're one of the best."

"Well I appreciate the compliment. But I don't know if I'm one of the best. I'm just trying to pass and get my badge."

"Same here," Skye tells him. "But I'm also kind of worried."

"Worried about what?"

"That when the day finally comes for me to get my badge and become an official agent, they'll look at me and say, 'Sorry for the misunderstanding. You're actually not cut out to be an agent. Go back to living on the street in your van. You're not good enough.'"

"Why would you think they'd do that?" He asks her.

"Because that's what everyone I could ever care about has basically said to me."

"I know what that's like."

"You do?" She tilts her head.

He nods his head, "Unfortunately, yeah. My family was never really one to tell me they loved me or that I mattered. My older brother also beat me up a lot. Me and my little brother. He'd beat us up for the stupidest things." He looks out at the ocean, "So I started learning how to protect myself and my little brother. My parents sent me to military school for a little while and I guess while I was there I got onto SHIELD's radar and they asked me if I wanted the chance to really do some good in the world. They told me I could be a great agent. I didn't hesitate in saying yes because it was an opportunity to get out of my home life. And anything is better than that." He looks back at Skye, "I guess that's why I do so well at the Academy; I want them to tell me I matter and that I really am doing well."

"I'm sorry about your family," she tells him. "That shouldn't be the kind of family anyone has."

"No it isn't," he replies. "When I got here, you said you're an orphan. Did your family never come back for you?"

She shakes her head, "Nope. They never did." She looks down at the sand, "They left me on the doorstep of an orphanage when I just a baby. Then I was bounced around a lot from foster home to foster home. I never stayed in one place for more than a few months." She looks out to the ocean, "The families never really told me why they'd send me back, but I knew it was my fault. I knew I'd never be a good fit anywhere." She looks back at the sand, "So I ran away from the orphanage when I was sixteen, started living alone in a van, and learned how to hack into things. Got really good really fast." She looks back at Ward, "That's how SHIELD found me; I hacked into their system a couple of times. And instead of throwing me in jail or something, they asked me if I wanted to learn how to use my skills to help others. They said I had potential. It took me a little while to actually say yes, because no one had ever said anything like that to me before. But I did, and now I love it at the Academy."

"Then I guess SHIELD saved the both of us in a way."

She smiles, "Yeah, I guess it did." There's a pause before she speaks up again, "I've never told anyone any of that before. About my life before the Academy. Not even Jemma and Kara know about that, and they're my best friends. It's just not something I like talking about."

"I get it," he replies. "I've never told anyone about my family either. Brings up some memories that I'd rather would stay buried."

"I know how that is," she tells him. "I've had my fair share of bad foster homes. Ones that I'd much rather forget about. But hey, even with your horrible excuse for a family, you turned out pretty well."

"Yeah. And so did you."

Skye smiles softly as she looks into Ward's eyes, tucking a piece of stray hair behind her ear. Without thinking, she leans up and softly presses her lips to his. After a split second, she pulls away, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't—I guess I just got caught up in the moment. Your model probably isn't equipped with that kind of programming."

"Well maybe my programming should be updated," he smiles.

A smile slowly grows on her face, "Did you just make a robot joke about yourself?"

He nods his head slowly, "I think I did."

"Does this mean I'm rubbing off on you somehow?" she asks.

He nods his head again, "It's possible." He reaches out and gently cradles the back of her head in his hand, leaning closer to her. He hesitates for a moment before letting the roughness of his own lips gently lock onto the softness of hers.

Skye doesn't hesitate in kissing him back, bringing her hand up to grip the arm cradling her head. She moves from her spot, swinging one leg over him so she's straddling his lap. Ward swipes his tongue across Skye's lips, asking for entrance. Skye parts her lips, letting hers and Ward's tongues battles for dominance. She moves her other hand to the back of his head, massaging his scalp.

Realizing their need to breath, Ward and Skye break apart, letting their foreheads lean against one another.

"Wow," Skye breathes out. "Who knew a robot could kiss like that?"

Ward chuckles, an unfamiliar sound to Skye, and then speaks, "Skye, would you like to go out with me sometime?"

"I would love to," she replies. "But we have to leave for the Academy tomorrow. And we hardly get time off when we're there."

"Then we'll find time," he tells her.

She smiles and leans back, wrapping her arms around his neck to hold herself up. He lets his hands fall to her waist.

"What happened to you? What's with the sudden change in heart?" She asks him. "Not that I mind, I'm just curious. The first time we met, I thought you were just a robot without a heart."

He smiles, "A very persistent Rookie happened."

She smiles, "Glad I could help."

"Me too."


"I can't believe this day is finally here," Skye says to Kara and Jemma as the three best friends make their way through the Hub.

"It's exciting, isn't it?" Jemma speaks up. "I can't wait to start applying the things we've learned in the classroom. Of course, Skye and I will most likely remain on a base somewhere while Kara will go out into the field, but it's all still exciting."

"Yes it is," Kara smiles. "And Skye, if I ever need someone to run back end for me on a mission, you'll be the first one I call."

Skye smiles at her friend, "Thanks, Kara."

"Anytime. That's what friends are for."

"I'm just so excited to finally become an official SHIELD agent," Skye beams. "I've been looking forward to this since day one at the Academy."

"I thought you were bored with classes the first year?" Jemma speaks up.

"Well yeah. But they got more fun and interesting as the years went by."

"As most things usually do," Kara says.

"Yeah, I just really wish Grant could be here. I know there isn't like a huge ceremony or anything, we're just going into a room to fill out paperwork and then get our badges, but this is a big day, I wanted him to be here."

"Is he still off on a mission?" Kara asks.

Skye nods her head, "Yeah. He told me he might not make it back in time, but he also said congratulations, so I guess there's that."

"That's alright, Skye," Jemma tries to comfort her friend. "At least he said congratulations. And I'm sure he'll want to take you out to celebrate as soon as he gets back, no matter when that is."

"Yeah," Skye nods her head, "you're right." She looks at both of her friends and smiles, "Now come on, let's go get those badges."


"This is so surreal," Skye says as the three friends exit the large conference room, their newly assigned SHIELD badges clasped in their hands.

"I know," Kara smiles. "This is amazing. We actually did it, we're real agents now."

"Those four years of hard work and determination really paid off."

"Yes they did," Jemma smiles. "And now we get to actually do things for SHIELD. Fitz and I are both looking forward to visiting all the SHIELD labs we can and hopefully get some new ideas for equipment pieces."

"Sounds exciting," Kara smiles. "I'm ready to get out into the field. I can't wait to apply what I learned and catch some bad guys while saving people."

"That sounds pleasant," Jemma tells her. "What about you, Skye? What are you most excited about being able to do now?"

"Get me hands on SHIELD's security. See what I can do about fixing the holes they have."

"I thought you already did that," Kara says, "when they first recruited you. Didn't they have you fix the holes?"

"Only the ones I found while breaking in. But there's bound to be more, they're security isn't the greatest. So I'm pretty excited about all that."

"Funny. I thought you'd be excited to see me."

Stopping in her path and her eyes going wide, Skye spins around to face the entrance of the building. A large grin spreads across her face when she sees her boyfriend standing a few feet away. He's still wearing his tac gear and has some dirt smudged across his face.

"Grant," she whispers and then runs at full speed across the lobby of the Hub.

Smiling when he sees her running towards him, Grant holds his arms open to her, catching her when she jumps up. He wraps his arms tightly around her waist, holding her close. Skye wraps her arms his neck and her legs around his waist, burying her face into his neck.

"You're here," she says against his skin.

"I know," he says back. "The mission didn't take as long as I thought it was going to."

She lifts her head up and smiles down at him. She places one of her hands on his cheek, rubbing her thumb across the dirt on it, "You're covered in dirt."

"Things got kind of crazy," he tells her.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out." She leans down and presses her lips against his, smiling into the kiss. "I'm so glad you're here," she says against his lips. Unwrapping her legs from around his waist, she slides down just enough so her feet are touching the floor again.

"So am I," he smiles. "Did you already get your badge?"

She nods her head, "Yeah. Jem, Kara, and I just got done with all the paperwork."

"I missed it?" he frowns.

"Yeah. But I have my badge right here," she pulls her badge out and holds it up right in front of her face so he can see it.

"Look at that," he smiles, reaching up to grab the SHIELD badge. "You're now officially a SHIELD agent."

"Are you proud of me?" she asks him.

"That's not even a question," he tells her softly. "Of course I'm proud of you. I love you."

"I love you too," she smiles at him. "And hey, guess what?"

"What?"

"Now we're both SHIELD agents."

He smiles, "Yes we are. Are you ready to use everything the Academy taught you to help save people?"

She nods her head and smiles, "Most definitely."

"Good. But first, I say we go out and celebrate this fine achievement you've reached."

"Really?" she grins.

He nods his head, "Really. How does a nice dinner and a movie sound?"

"Sounds perfect," she leans forward, tilting her chin up and rising slightly on her toes so she can press a quick kiss to his lips. She leans back, "But first, you need to get cleaned up. You're all dirty, and you kind of smell, too."

He chuckles, "Alright. We'll go home so I can change, then we'll go out."

"Awesome," she smiles.

"Do you have all your things?"

She nods her head, "Yeah, everything's in my car."

"Great. We'll take your car then because mine is not here since I used one SHIELD's."

"Cool. Can I have my badge back now?"

"Yes you can," he holds it up to her. She takes it from him and slips it into her back pocket. "Shall we go now?"

"Yes please." She reaches down and grabs his hand in hers, linking their fingers together.

As they start to make their way towards the front doors of the Hub, Grant looks over his shoulder and waves to Kara and Jemma, "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Kara smiles and waves at him. "You two have fun."

"We will," Skye smirks at her friend and waggles her eyebrows.

Grant and Skye never made it back out of their apartment and to dinner.


So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below.

I love the idea of Jemma, Skye, and Kara being best buds during their Academy days. It makes me smile.

Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!