Thank you everyone who reviewed, followed or favourited my story. I never thought so many people would like my story. I don't Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D or the characters but I wish I did.
"Since we're all so busy and don't have time to buy everyone a present, I thought we could do Secret Santa." Everyone was shocked, when Coulson called for a meeting they thought it was because they had a mission.
"What's Secret Santa?" Skye asked, FitzSimmons looked at her strangely and were about to say something when Ward gave them a look that said 'stay quiet or else'.
"Secret Santa is when we all put our names in a hat and we each draw out someone's name and get them and only them a present. If you get your own name then you draw again. We also don't tell anyone, absolutely no one who you got. No matter how much they annoy or bother you with the questions and no matter how close you are with that person who is interrogating you." Agent Ward explained giving a knowing look to Skye as he explained the part about not telling anyone.
They started to pull out names with Skye going first. No one understood how she did it, but Skye managed to pull out her name 6 times in a row. "That's it. Skye give me your name! I'm holding on to it so you can't pick it for a seventh time." Ward didn't wait for Skye to hand over the little piece of paper which held her name, he snatched it off her. As everyone watched her pull out a new name, Ward folded the corner of the piece of paper, so when it was his turn, he would be able to pull out Skye's name. After Skye chose Leo, Ward offered to go next, which, of course resulted with him pulling out Skye's name. Jemma got Coulson, Coulson got May, May got Ward and Leo got Jemma.
After choosing a name from the hat, Ward started to pull Skye back for training, which was interrupted by Coulson who had called them for the Secret Santa meeting. "But we were training before. We don't need to do anymore training." Skye complained.
"We never finished. Coulson called us for this meeting." Ward replied.
"But we need to get ready for shopping." Skye argued.
"We won't be landing for at least 2 hours." May said, walking away to the cockpit to pilot the plane.
"See. You can train for an hour and a half, then you can get ready." Ward reasoned.
"But I need time to think of what to get for Secret Santa." Skye complained.
"You can think as you shop and it I hear another 'but' from you, I'll make you do 20 pull ups." Ward countered.
Skye sensing she was losing proceeded to turn to Coulson. "Dad, the Robot isn't being fair!" FitzSimmons laughed at Skye's reference to their bizarre family. She had said that Coulson and May were the parents, FitzSimmons were twins while Ward was the family Robot.
"Well, ummm… he is your S.O." Coulson saw Skye's begging expression and Ward's glare, "but I do think it would be fair to allow her to think about the present while training so she is allowed to be a bit distracted." Coulson concluded, trying to make both happy.
"Yes sir, Rookie, you can do 50 push ups, 50 pull ups, 50 sit ups, and then for the rest of time you can do jab-cross on the punching bag." Ward said crossing his arms across his muscular chest with a facial expression that just dared Skye to complain but she didn't want extra pull ups or push ups so she kept her mouth shut.
A hour later Skye was punching the punching bag. She was hopping if she bothered him enough he would let her off training, she could feel herself getting on his last nerve. "Is it just me or were you scared out by Santa when you were young?"
"No, why would I be?" Ward replied confused.
"Well, Santa always sounded like a creep to me. I mean he see you when you are sleeping, you knows if you've been good or bad and that sounds creepy to me. He sounds like a giant perv! And if you rearrange the letters that spell out Santa, you get Satan." Skye explained with her hands on her hips.
"When you said it like that, he does sound creepy, but then again Santa isn't real." Ward countered.
"Speaking about Santa, who do you have for Secret Santa, Muscles?" Skye questioned.
"Oh no you don't, you can forget it Skye, I'm not telling and if you ask me again, you can have 10 pull ups." Ward threatened.
"A girl asks a question once and she get threatened. Who set you on grumpy mode Robot?" Skye sulked. "Or is it because of Christmas?"
"Firstly, I know that you'll keep asking till you get an answer so I thought I would stay a step ahead and you were told the rules, you're lucky I'm not making you do 10 pull ups right now. Secondly, I'm not grumpy, and thirdly, Christmas isn't so bad with the team."
"You just still don't trust me, because I betrayed everyone, I betrayed you, even after everything I've done to myself." Skye turned her back to Ward with tears in her eyes and her head cast down. That sight broke Ward's heart.
"Skye, that's not true! I trust you with my life, I know you won't betray me again. Please don't think that." Ward begged, he tried to have her face him but she struggled against him so he let her keep her back to him, and he hugged her from behind. "Are you going to look at me anytime soon?" He leaned his head over her shoulder to try and see her face, but she turned her head away.
"Prove it. Prove that you trust me." Skye whispered.
"How?" Ward asked.
"Tell me a secret." Her voice had a suggestive tone in it. Then it all clicked.
"You're trying to trick me into telling you who I have for Secret Santa!" Ward accused.
"I am not!" Skye spun around in his arms to face him. "I was trying to guilt you into telling me," she replied cheekily, "but, now I'm quite happy to just stay in your arms." She said as she wrapped her arms around Ward's neck. Ward then proceeded to push away. While Skye giggled, Ward chuckled and shook his head at her stumbling.
"Smart, but that has earned you 20 pull ups." Ward smirked.
Skye was just about to protest when Coulson spoke up. "We're landing in 30 minutes."
Skye quickly ran up the stairs and yelled back to Ward, "Sorry my dear S.O. but I have to get ready for shopping. We'll continue this later."
Ward followed Skye up, and just before she could enter the bathroom to have a shower, Ward grabbed her forearm and pulled her to his chest. "Just to clarify, I do trust you, I'll always have your back as we'll. I'll never leave you." Skye started to feel nervous about the conversation. She might never betray them again, but she couldn't know for sure if she would run, or leave.
"If you'll never leave me then does that mean you're gonna perv on me in the shower? And when I get changed and when I sleep?"
Ward rolled his eyes. "Skye-"
"I know, that's not what you meant. I joke when I'm nervous and stuff."
"Why are you nervous?"
"You'll leave. Everyone else has. My first boyfriend once said that I was like a rose. I might be beautiful like a rose and my personality might be just as beautiful, and my scent just as lovely, but once you get too close you get stabbed. When you get stabbed enough, you'll leave. Everyone has a limit. I stabbed you once when I betrayed you. I jab you everyday by annoying you. But I do that so no one gets to close. Anyway, getting stabbed repeatedly by thorns isn't worth what the rose has to offer. Ill save you the pain, you can leave now." Skye tried to pull her arm away but Ward's grip was too strong.
"He's wrong. If I had to compare you to a flower, I would compare you to the jasmine." Skye's eyes shot up. "You're beautiful and everything, but I don't think you're strong enough to grow on your own. You need support, a tree or a wall or a fence, and sometimes you are too eager to grow because you finally have the support you need so your grip can be a bit tight, but, if you are worth and I care about you so I'll adapt." Ward released Skye's arm and cupped her face and tilted her head down so he could kiss her forehead, before leaving her to her shower and to go have one himself in one of the other bathrooms.
Shopping went well for everyone, the presents turned out easier than what everyone thought it would be. Ward and Fitz were the only ones who had known what they were getting, even before they pulled the names out of the hat. There was even a certain someone who had gotten someone else a present, breaking the rules of Secret Santa, but of course, the person had a plan to get around it.
It was Christmas Day and everyone had opened up their presents except Skye. She was the last to open her present. May got ear muffs and ear plugs and other things to drown out the sound of FitzSimmons arguing and Skye and Ward arguing. Coulson got some Captain America collectibles. Jemma got some Bio-Chem thing, Ward got some new books to read and Leo got a monkey plush toy, monkey books and the Disney movie 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'. Everyone was so excited about their own presents they didn't notice Skye hadn't gotten her present, they all got up and left, one by one till only Ward and Skye were left.
"Did you like your present?" Ward asked, knowing that Skye hadn't gotten her present yet because it was still in his pocket.
"Yeah, it's cool." Skye answered with a tear in his eye.
"Liar." Ward caught the tear as it rolled down her cheek. "Why are you crying?"
"My Secret Santa forgot about me." Skye answered as her voice broke as more tears started to fall.
"No, I could never forget about you." Ward pulled out a little box from his pocket and used his other hand to wipe away Skye's tears. As Skye opened the box she found a gold bracelet with four small charms on it, a robot, a star, mistletoe and a small flower. "It's 24 carat gold, the black in the robot is onyx, the star has about a dozen mini diamonds so it looks like glitter, the mistletoe is pearls and emeralds, the flower is a jasmine and that is pearls. I would have wrapped it up, but I got it custom made, so I only picked it up this morning."
"Thank you Grant. Can you help me put it on?" Ward smiled at Skye calling him 'Grant', and put the bracelet around her small wrist. Skye shyly placed a kiss on Ward's cheek.
"A kiss on the cheek? I gave you a custom made, 24 carat gold with real gemstones, bracelet with charms that will remind you of our moments, and all I get is a kiss on the cheek?" Ward teased with a fake pout, but he got his kiss anyway. Their lips moved in perfect sync, the kiss was open mouthed, Ward would have loved to slip his tongue into her mouth, but while the kiss was passionate from them both, her kiss was also shy. Breaking the kiss, Skye ran into her room with cheeks as red as cherries.
Ward silently walked to his room thinking of their kiss. When he walked into his room he saw a plastic tree with a plastic jasmine vine 'growing' around it. Attached to the pot was a note saying, 'It may be Christmas but this is a Thank You present. Also, I do need support, please be my tree.' "I wish she gave this to me before, now I'm gonna have to have a tree charm made."