The walk from the Lab to the BUS seemed to take a lifetime; Skye could feel her breath catching in her throat as she set an eager pace forcing Fitz into almost a jog to keep up. The corridors blurred past and she barely had time to smile at Mack as he said it was good to see her out of quarantine before she had already left him behind. By the time Fitz passed him, Mack had a decidedly confused expression on his face. For Fitz's own part, he paid Mack as little heed as Skye had, his eyes were fixed on Skye as she strode ahead of him, watching the way her hips swung and hair bounced with each step, the tight denim of her jeans pulled tight over the curves of her arse. He had always found her attractive and did care deeply for her as a friend, but he had been so caught up in his own failed endeavours with Simmons and she had been caught up with her catastrophic romance with Ward that it was only now he was seeing her in a new light – as though for the first time.

All that mattered for them both was getting to the BUS: heads spinning, hearts pounding and minds racing at what awaited them when she got there. A year ago Skye had thought of Fitz as little more than a friend but now he was the only one who understood what it was like to be different – even after his initial freak out he still saw her for who she was. She found herself imagining how hard it must have been for him to have all of his friends look at him like he was no longer the same person; his lie had shielded her from that. Skye was also aware he had risked further divisions in his already complicated relationship with Simmons for her. Turning back to check he was still following her Skye took in his flustered appearance, old-fashioned dress sense and awkward demeanour, realising that although she'd always thought she fell for the bad boy type – first Miles, then Ward – what she had actually been looking for was someone who could see her for who she was. After all, Fitz was about as far away from a typical bad boy as someone could get but something about the way he looked at her, the kindness and empathy that seemed to flow unimpeded from him meant she couldn't wait to have her hands back in his soft brown hair, to have her mouth against his and to feel him inside her.

As they stepped into the main hangar Skye breathed in the fresh, cold air – relishing the taste freedom after so many hours in isolation. She closed her eyes for only a few moments to enjoy it before grabbing Fitz's hand to drag him along and rushing up the cargo ramp to the BUS. They climbed the stairs almost two at a time – prompting Fitz to stumble more than once – and practically sprinted towards the bunks that'd had been their home before the move to the Playground. Aside from Mack in the garage it was quite rare for people to use the BUS nowadays – outside of for missions anyway – and with him in the main compound the two of them knew they had the place to themselves. When they got to Skye's old bunk no sooner had she shut the door behind them than she flicked on the CD player next to the bed and started kissing ferociously, with Skye frantically tugging Fitz's clothes with fumbling hands as Mumford and Sons played in the background.

She broke the kiss just long enough to lift off Fitz's jumper, instantly missing the feel of his lips against hers and the comfort that they brought. She took off her own shirt as he began unbuttoning his - something she had to help him finish because of his trembling hands. Admittedly, she didn't know if they were shaking from the hypoxia or from excitement – she could hardly keep her own ones steady and settled impatiently on tearing the two sides of his shirt open in one swift movement, popping off the bottom two buttons and prompting Fitz to pull away from her with a disapproving frown. The sudden space between them felt like a gaping chasm even in such a small room and in a desperate bid to close the gap between them she pushed him against the wall, running her hands over his surprisingly well defined chest as he pressed kisses against her neck. She felt somewhat guilty that she had assumed he would have no muscle tone at all; after all, even Fitz had to have gone through basic field training.

She lowered her hands from his chest to his waist, deftly unbuckling it and dropping his jeans to his ankles. Fitz pushed her back slightly and awkwardly kicked the jeans into the corner, almost tripping on them as he did so, before he set about removing her own trousers – slipping them past her waist with surprising speed and efficiency. Impatient at the fact they were both still standing, Skye led Fitz to the bunk before pushing him into a seated position and straddling his waist. He groaned as she pressed against him, heat building between them where their bodies met. In retaliation he brought his mouth from her neck back up to meet hers and continued their battle for control of the each other's mouths; every few moments yielded a switch in victor as their tongues jousted. With little more than their underwear between them Fitz pulled her in close, wrapping his arms around her before leaning back so she lie on top of him completely, their bodies locked. She sighed as he ran his hands along her back and moved to unclip her bra, enjoying their passionate embrace.

"I can do it," She muttered breathlessly between kisses as Fitz's hands struggled to open the clasp, but he shook his head.

"Almost…" He said, an air of annoyance in his voice before finally unclipping it, "Got it!"

She slipped her arms through the straps and threw the black bra against the wall, feeling her breasts hang freely against her. As if magnetically, Fitz's hands rose to meet them, cupping them tenderly as he gently stroked the sensitive skin around her fast hardening nipples with his thumb. His efforts earned him a gasp from her as she deepened their kiss, eager to taste as much of the young scientist as she could. Instinctively, she ground her hips against his pelvis, feeling the heat from his hard organ against her own, damp sex. He closed his eyes and his hips bucked upwards involuntarily at the contact, letting out a low, guttural groan and holding her tighter. She felt her lips twitch upwards into a wide grin as she watched the effect she was having on her friend. When he opened his eyes they were wide and lustful, ravenous.

He let go of her breasts and pressed one hand against her thigh and the other at the small of her back before effortlessly flipping them over so he was on top. He pulled his lips away from hers and looked down at her, bringing his hands to her face. He smiled at her and said with simple, boyish charm, "You're beautiful."

She grinned at him, lifting her neck upwards to resume their kiss, loving the slightly prickly feel of his light stubble against her skin. As he brought their heads lower so she could rest against the pillow he rocked his hips forward gently, applying the lightest pressure against her sex, igniting a passion deep inside her. As her face screwed up in growing pleasure she felt different all of a sudden, both powerful and powerless at the same time. Energy seemed to surge from her in waves and it felt as though she was creating ripples in the air – for a glorious moment she was relaxed, serene and utterly at peace, but it was interrupted by a sudden jolt. Everything around them was shaking – the Mumford and Sons playing in the background was distorted and jumped as vibrations ran throughout the hull of the plane.

"Skye!" Fitz almost yelled at her over the sounds of smashing cutlery from the on board kitchen.

His eyes were wide with fear and concern for her, his hands held her cheeks as he said something she couldn't hear. Her heart was pounding against her chest as the room shook, the few personal items she owned, including a couple of photos of the ST6 from the early days before HYDRA, fell from her bedside cabinet. The lights flickered and the door flew open as the tremors grew stronger, her breath came in short sharp gasps as clothes fell from the luggage holdall above their heads. She didn't understand how this was happening, terror seized her, she gripped onto Fitz's arms so tightly her nails drew blood.

"Skye?!" Fitz said again, his voice calmer and quieter. His eyes were locked on hers as everything on the BUS rocked, the metal seemingly creaking under the new pressure. Tears burned in her eyes, feeling powerless to stop the quaking. He brought himself to her, pressing their foreheads together and whispering, "It's alright… You've got this…"

"I can't!" She whimpered in fear but he held onto her, his hands still cupping her cheeks.

"You can do this Skye." He said reassuringly and as she opened her mouth to protest he met it firmly with a strong kiss.

The effect was instantaneous, her grip on his arms lightened as she relaxed against him. The shaking around them lightened and subsided, finally stopping altogether. By the time he finally broke the kiss her heart rate had slowed and she looked up at him, suddenly exhausted. Where she expected fear and horror, she found only care from him, "Told you you had it." He said with an understated grin, wincing as she let go of his arms – her stomach lurched when she saw his blood under her fingernails.

"What's wrong with me Fitz?" She asked, her earlier fears returning in force.

"Nothing." He said, his thumb wiping a tear away from her cheek. "Nothing's wrong with you Skye."

"I could hurt you." She half whispered, the pain evident in her voice. She said the only thing that she could think of, "I don't want this."

"We'll figure this out." He told her reassuring before adding as she turned to look away from him, "We'll get through this… Okay?"

She looked at him carefully, tears still streaming from her eyes and sweat dripping from her forehead before tentatively nodding. "Okay, Fitz." She answered meekly.

His lips twitched into a slight smile, before breaking into a grin as his normal fire returned to him, "In the meantime, erm, don't… don't get too excited."

She punched him on the shoulder a little harder than she meant to, breaking into laughter in spite of herself. She looked up at him, suddenly aware they were both almost naked and said playfully, "In which case, we should sort this quick."

Fitz blushed and, as though nothing had happened – as though she hadn't nearly destroyed the BUS with them still on it – pressed a light kiss to her lips and stood up, picking up the broken picture frame of everyone and putting it back on the bedside cabinet. Skye watched him as he pulled his jeans back on, then his shirt, resisting the urge to giggle as he remembered the bottom two buttons were broken. Fitz wouldn't say it, but she knew he would be really annoyed by that. He struggled to subdue an obvious frown as he pulled his jumper back on before awkwardly passing her back her bra.

No sooner had she put it on than Simmons appeared at the open doorway, her face flustered having obviously ran straight there. Skye's heart froze in fear as the woman she hoped was still her friend's eyes passed from her to Fitz. Instinctively, Skye drew the quilt covers around herself, feeling thankful Simmons hadn't walked in a few moments earlier though regretful she had turned up at all. Despite everything that had happened between Fitz and Simmons, Skye noted that Simmons was obviously relieved to see that Fitz had his clothes on.

"I came to check on her." Fitz offered dismissively by way of explanation of his presence in Skye's bedroom on the BUS before turning his attention fully to Simmons. "What was that?" He asked, playing dumb to the whole situation.

"I don't know." She looked nervously at him, holding a tablet PC tightly in her hands "None of the readings make any sense; we're not on or even anywhere remotely near a fault line that could have caused this."

"Let me see." Fitz said, continuing the charade and looking over the data. Skye had to admit he had an excellent poker face, she hoped her own was even half as convincing.

"You're bleeding." Simmons said and Fitz froze, obviously wondering how he would explain the blood on his arms. But she wasn't looking at him, she was looking at Skye's fingernails. Skye cursed in her mind at the fact she had left one of her hands above the quilt.

"It's from the glass." Skye said, gesturing to the bandage around the hand, thankful that there was indeed a dark red mark visible.

"Fitz you really need should have cleaned it properly." Simmons said to him, he was still looking over at the data she'd given him, lost in thought.

"It was my fault, I pressed the bandage when the shaking started," Skye improvised and demonstrated her lie by curling her hand into a fist, lining her bloodied fingernails to the blood marks from the glass, pretending to Simmons that Fitz's blood was in fact hers. In a bid to get out from Jemma's scrutiny she added, "I can clean it."

Skye didn't wait for Simmons' approval before getting up and walking towards one of the bathrooms on the plane, leaving the door ajar so that she could hear any conversation while she got rid of the blood from her nails.

"What do you think?" Skye heard Simmons ask Fitz, she continued, "I've never seen anything like it."

"Have you ran it against any projects from your time at… away?" Fitz asked, evidently still sore about the whole subject.

"You really think this was HYDRA?" Simmons asked him, she didn't seem convinced.

"It could be, erm, retaliation for, for," Fitz sounded frustrated at his inability to vocalise properly, "for what we did to Whitehall."

"Or the other heads of HYDRA." Simmons added, there was a pause in which Fitz must have expressed a look that told her he didn't understand because she continued, "Coulson moved against them, took out four other heads."

Skye walked back into the room having washed the blood away from both hands.

"Run the results against projects from HYDRA, even prototypes – see if we can't find a match." Fitz said, handing the tablet back to her before adding, "I'm glad you're alright."

Simmons nodded in appreciation, casting her eyes over to Skye one last time and smiling before heading towards the stairs down to Mack's garage. After she left, Fitz let out a visible sigh of relief.

"What did you do?" Skye asked, for the second time that day.

"Bought us some time." He answered, shooting her a wry smile.

…

Lady Sif's visit had changed everything.

Abomination.

Skye heard the words of the Kree warrior as she walked through the corridors of the Playground, her bag of things in her hand. She had made up her mind when she woke up from the ICER, she would go and stay in the BUS for the time being, she hoped that Fitz would come with her but she didn't know if he still would – he had stood up for against the Kree warrior and had even used alien tech to protect her but now that her secret was out he would have to choose between herself and Simmons. She didn't doubt that Fitz cared for her, but he had known Jemma for so long, and there was so much between them – she didn't want to let herself hope that he would openly choose herself instead.

"Skye is my friend, she's different." She had heard Simmons say to Fitz, giving her a brief moment of hope as she rounded the corner, seeing broken glass strewn across the corridor – unsure if she had caused the damage or the fight against the Kree had.

"Oh yeah like I was your friend and then I changed, how did you handle that?" Fitz shot back, clearly agitated.

"Point is secrets don't help any of us, Skye should have just come clean." Mack's deep voice sounded as Skye took in the scene in front of her. Everyone was gathered there except May and Coulson. She reminded herself why Trip wasn't there.

"What and risk being locked up, studied and who knows what else? No I wouldn't let her." Fitz said, rounding on Mack. Skye knew the two of them had a close friendship before the events at the alien city. Ever since Mack had acted differently, more aggressively, and she noticed that Fitz had become more wary of him. She remembered Coulson had told her Fitz almost had to kill him to protect them.

"Oh you wouldn't let her?" Simmons snapped, aggressively.

"We could have handled her in a way that kept everyone safe." Mack chipped in, evidently trying to cool the tension between Simmons and Fitz.

"It wasn't fair to us Fitz, we had a right to know." Bobbi spoke up, adding her voice to Mack and Simmons'. The realisation made Skye uncomfortable, at the moment only Fitz was standing up for her – she knew Coulson would have her back and hoped May would. Hearing her friends discussing her, take sides on her, hurt. She felt tears begin to well behind her eyes and her hand instinctively touched the burn mark on her arm where she had ICED herself.

"A right to know? What, is that the same way that Sif and the Kree had a right to know?" Fitz said sharply.

"I think this situation is a little bit different mate." Hunter answered, coming to the defence of Bobbi out of instinct more than support. Of everyone Hunter seemed the least certain.

"No you would have done to her exactly what they wanted to." Fitz retorted, struggling to keep his voice steady. Skye found herself pitying him, trying to defend her against everyone when he still couldn't put together cogent sentences most of the time.

"You don't know that!" Simmons spat out, voice risen. Fitz matched her beat for beat.

"Yes I do know that!" Fitz shouted with such surprising power you'd think he hadn't been through everything he'd been through, "they would, you'd, you would handle her, Mack just said it." He said, pointing to Mack. "Like Skye is something to be locked away in a cage somewhere. We should be protecting her!"

"No Fitz." Mack growled, his voice low and threatening. A knot formed in Skye's stomach. "We're the ones that need protection from her."

There was silence. Mack was looking directly at her, one by one they all turned. Fitz gave her an at once sympathetic and at once pleading look, as though he was asking her to stay – to talk this out with everyone. She couldn't stay though, if she had any doubts about how necessary it would be that she live on the BUS she didn't have them now – Fitz had summed it up, she would be locked up. She stared at each person, taking in their expressions. Of all of them Hunter looked the most regretful, for the second time Skye found herself surprised that he might prove an ally, the rest of them looked upset that she had overheard the argument, but defiant nonetheless.

The collective weight of their scrutiny was too much, even with Fitz there she felt that now familiar trembling building up within her – the trembling she had felt in the Temple, in the quarantine chamber, the BUS, the hospital and when she had been outed as an abomination. She turned away from them and started walking towards the hangar before it got too great, before she caused another quake. She heard Fitz call out after her but didn't stop, instead continuing briskly walking away and unlocking the door at the end of corridor before making her way to the BUS. She climbed the stairs in tears as she remembered the last time she'd made the climb, full of excitement. She lingered as she looked in at her old room, noticing the photo of the team with the cracks running across the glass. She almost smiled at how aptly it represented the divisions within the group before she let her feet trace their way to the holding cell, to her cage.

She threw her bag on the bed and shut the door behind her, sitting against the wall and sobbing, screwing her fists into balls at her prison. She blinked through her tears as she looked to the cameras in the ceiling, to the little red light that would watch her day and night to make sure she didn't hurt anyone else. She saw ripples forming in the glass of water on the central table and reached for the ICER she'd brought with her, preparing to sedate herself if she couldn't bring the tremors back into control. She was just about to pull the trigger when she heard a clicking sound and the little red light in the corner switched off. The latch to the door swung open and Fitz rushed in out of breath, closing the door behind him.

"Don't!" He panted, out of breath as Skye held the ICER against her thigh, "It's one of Jemma's new ones, you don't want that in you." He held out an injector with a brown tube filled with clear liquid attached at one end and a needle at the other. "Morphine," he explained, "It's safer than dendrotoxin, and quite a bit more enjoyable." He broke out in a grin and, despite everything, she smiled back – the ripples in the water stopped.

"What are you doing here Fitz?" She asked him, feeling exhausted even though she hadn't used the injector.

"I told you, we'll figure this out." He answered, smiling a pained grin. Sitting next to her and putting a hand on her thigh.

"What about Simmons?" Skye asked, immediately regretting asking as Fitz grimaced.

"I'll handle her." He said unconvincingly, it didn't take an agent to figure out that whatever was going on between them would not be readily solved.

"I'm sorry Fitz." She said, losing her composure and breaking down into tears, throwing her hands around him like she had in the quarantine chamber.

"It's alright." He repeated softly into her ear, pressing kisses against her cheek. "It's going to be alright, Skye, just you see."

She kissed him back, tentatively at first before picking up the pace, once again drawing joy from the union of their lips. She sighed softly as he ran his hand up her side and cupped her breast through the thin fabric of her shirt.

"What about the others?" Skye asked, breaking the kiss reluctantly.

"Don't you think they could use shaking out of whatever's got into them?" He answered with a mischievous grin.

She giggled in spite of herself, in spite of the awfulness of the situation and resumed the kiss, parting her mouth to let in his tongue and running her hands through his hair. As he pulled her closer to him she felt that familiar heat building inside her and couldn't help but be happy as, at the back of her mind, she remembered that Fitz chose her.