AT LEAST WE'RE IN THE DARK TOGETHER

Chapter 3.

During the night, Skye's hand had migrated between the buttons on Coulson's shirt and rested now on the soft hair covering his flat abdomen. That's the scene that Grant walked in on when he entered the lounge. Whether it was the lingering effects of the Lorelei incident or the berserker staff he wasn't sure, but he became enraged.

"You hypocrite!" The words flew out of his mouth as he saw what to him was a boss who threatened him with reassignment when he found out about May, but was now carrying on a similar relationship with Skye.

Skye's body tensed as she heard the words and the anger behind them. Coulson grunted when she launched herself up using him as a lever.

"Ward, what the hell?" Skye blinked her sleepy eyes and frowned at the large man. Behind her, Coulson stumbled to his feet, unsure of what was happening.

Grant barely controlled his anger as he shouted at his superior. "You've got the balls to discourage me from sleeping with May, but now I find you taking advantage of Skye!" His eyes blazed, and Skye became alarmed.

"Wait, what? He's not taking advantage of me, Ward. There's nothing… inappropriate going on here. We just fell asleep after talking!" Skye explained. She looked around in confusion as Fitz and Simmons came into the room having heard the shouting. Behind her Coulson was sinking into a dark place. This had suddenly become a deadly confrontation in a matter of seconds.

"This is MY bus." Coulson rumbled through gritted teeth. "You don't get to talk to me like that." Ward took a step toward him. The younger agent and his boss sizing each other up for possible strengths and weaknesses. Their violent intentions were obvious in the unwavering stares they gave each other. Skye, Fitz and Simmons watched on in horror.

The sound of two gunshots filled the room. Ward and Coulson dropped to the floor and everyone else's eyes turned to the source of the gunfire. Melinda May stood in the doorway holding the ICER gun.

"Way too much testosterone in here." She said grimly.

Suddenly, the spell was broken and attention turned to the injured men. Ward had managed to fall gracefully onto the lounge chair, his eyes open, but unseeing. Coulson, having been between the couch and coffee table, hadn't faired so well. He had pitched forward and cracked his head on the way down. A pool of blood was spreading slowly around his head.

"Oh my god, AC!" Skye raced to grab a bar towel to try to stem the blood flow. "Help me get him on the couch!"

Between the four of them they managed to lay Coulson on the couch, Skye pressing the towel against the gash on his forehead while Jemma ran to get a med kit. After a few tense minutes, his head was expertly stitched.

"He's gonna have a hell of a headache, but I don't think there's any worse damage." Jemma finally pronounced. She looked around the group until her eyes settled on Skye.

"What happened? Why were they about to throw down?" She demanded.

Skye shrugged her shoulders. "AC and I couldn't sleep last night, so we ended up on the couch here talking. We fell asleep, and I guess I got cold in my sleep and snuggled up to him for warmth. That's all it was. Ward came in this morning and came to the ridiculous conclusion that we had slept together. I honestly don't know what else he was going on about. May?"

The older agent's face closed off at the question. "How would I know? It must have been something between them I would imagine." Skye was experienced enough to know a lie when she heard one.

"So," she said tentatively, "keeping some secrets there, May?" Anger flashed in May's eyes as she answered the young hacker.

"There are a lot of secrets on this bus, as you would know." May said tersely before she turned and exited the room.

She can't possibly know about my pact with AC. Skye tried to keep her face blank so Fitz and Jemma would not be suspicious. Behind her Ward groaned softly and began to sit up. Jemma went to his side.

"Slowly, Ward. Get your bearings before you move." She cautioned him. He looked over at the couch, taking in the blood on Coulson's shirt and the bandage on his head.

"Oh, damn. Tell me I did not do that." He said softly and with genuine remorse.

"No, but I think you were wanting to." Fitz spoke up. "Why were you so mad at him?"

Ward shook his head. They didn't know about his relationship with May. Seeing Coulson with Skye had set off the internal rage he thought he was keeping at bay pretty well.

"It was a misunderstanding," he managed to answer as he looked at Skye in apology. She wasn't buying it, but remained silent.

Fitz chuckled to break the tension. "Thank god May broke it up with the ICER gun. I think it might have gotten a lot worse."

Ward frowned and stood shakily. "Let me know when he's awake. I don't know if an apology will help, but it's all I can do." He walked from the room. Jemma left and came back with a blanket and pillow which she arranged around Coulson.

"Someone should stay with him. If he doesn't wake up within the hour, I'll have to do a scan to make sure there's no hidden damage." She looked at her friend, Skye. "Why don't you go take a shower and change, I'll stay until you get back." Skye looked down at her AC. This just wasn't fair she thought. He'd been beaten up both emotionally and physically way too much in the last year. She made a solemn promise to herself that she wasn't going to let anyone hurt him anymore if she could help it. Then she left to get her shower. It would be a long day, especially since she wasn't going to let Coulson out of her sight.

To be continued.