"Morning, Uncle Phil. Wasn't Skye coming for breakfast?" She asked, looking around at the kitchen that was empty besides him. She didn't want to look stupid, so she had gotten dressed before coming out of her room. She wore her loosest jeans and the closest thing she had to a tee shirt.
"That happened an hour and a half ago, Jemma. You're going to have to get up earlier if you want to catch her." Phil told her, clearly amused by the disappointed look on her face.
"She's already fed the horses and she's out there working with them if you want to go watch. Or you could hang out here with your old unc-"
"Thanks, Uncle Phil!" Jemma said as she zipped out of the house. Phil chuckled before getting back to washing dishes.
Jemma found Skye in the round pen, whooping and making noises to get a horse to run around it. It seemed pretty useless to Jemma, but hey, Skye was the expert. Jemma found a conveniently placed stump near the pen and sat in on Skye's session with a brown and white, patchy looking horse.
She seemed to run him around the round pen for half an hour until she finally stopped. She turned her back to the horse and didn't even seem to notice Jemma nearby because she was so wrapped up in whatever it is that she was doing.
It was magical. The horse stopped what he was doing and walked over to Skye, nudging her shoulder. Skye grinned and turned to face him, offering a mint that she had in her pocket.
"What was that?" Jemma asked when she finally approached, climbing onto the first wrung of the metal gate and leaning against it.
"That was a match-up. He trusts me now." Skye told Jemma as she hooked the lead onto the horse's halter.
"If only it were that easy with people." Jemma joked.
"If only." Skye said in a low voice. It was clear there was a tidal wave of emotion behind those two words that Skye obviously wasn't going to reveal. Jemma decided not to push and just let Skye talk about herself when she felt comfortable.
"So how are you enjoying the ranch so far?" Skye asked.
"I don't know. I like the company." Jemma said. While Jemma's second statement caused Skye to smile, she couldn't ignore her first answer. Something made Jemma not like the place and Skye just had to know what it was.
"You don't know? Why not?" She asked, trying to pry a little bit without being rude. Jemma and Skye walked side by side as they brought the horse back to his outdoor stall, one that had a little roofed section.
"I know I could enjoy it, if I were more like you and less like me, but I'm not." Jemma confessed. Skye closed and locked the stall door and stared Jemma in the face.
"What do you mean?" Skye asked.
"You fit in perfectly here. You're amazing with the horses and I'm... I'm just a geek who memorizes facts about the world instead of actually experiencing it." Jemma confessed. The sympathetic look on Skye's face made Jemma regret opening up. She didn't want to throw herself a pity party, but Skye had an effect on her that made her want to talk about her deepest feelings.
"Oh, Jemma." Skye sighed. "You're smart enough to know that you can do something about that." she told her, putting one hand on Jemma's shoulder and using the other to tilt Jemma's jaw upward so they made eye contact.
"How?" Jemma asked with a light in her eyes. If Skye saw something in her there must be something there.
"Experience it." Skye whispered. Before Jemma knew what was going on, Skye led her into the barn by her hand and pulled Calypso out of his stall. Skye pulled over a mounting stool and swung up onto Calypso's back. Skye apparently had an affinity for bareback, she didn't bother with the trouble of tacking up.
She held onto Calypso's mane with one hand and held the other down to Jemma.
"No risk, no reward." Skye told Jemma when she stood there. The corners of Jemma's mouth curled upwards and she took Skye's hand. Jemma stood on the stool and did her best to imitate Skye's movement, but ended up failing miserably. It didn't matter though because Skye pulled her up with surprising ease. Once Jemma was seated solidly behind her, Skye clicked and signaled for Calypso to start walking.
"You're going to fall off the back if you don't scoot closer." Skye commented, referring to Jemma's polite way of trying to give Skye space. Jemma scooted forward a couple inches, but Skye still didn't find this safe enough for a second rider. While her horse continued to walk at a steady pace, Skye reached behind her and found Jemma's hands in her own. She pulled Jemma forward until their bodies were pressed up against each other. Once Skye was finally satisfied with Jemma's position on the horse, she brought her hands forward and had Jemma clasp them together against her stomach.
Skye wouldn't admit it, but she enjoyed the feel of Jemma's arms around her waist and Jemma enjoyed wrapping her arms around Skye. Neither girl knew if the other was happy for the same reasons and it was killing both of them.
"Hold on tight." Skye suddenly called behind her as Calypso began to lope once they hit the open field.
"Skye! Skye, slow down!" Jemma yelled in terror. She clutched Skye's middle like a lifeline and held on for dear life, pressing the side of her face against Skye's shoulder blade and closing her eyes tightly.
When the sensation didn't stop and the adrenaline lowered to a controllable level, Jemma opened her eyes and laughed with delight. They were flying across the field, or at least that's what it felt like to Jemma. To Skye it was a slow little canter and it put a smile on her face to hear Jemma's laugh.
Skye slowed the pace to a trot and she felt Jemma bouncing behind her before they slowed to a walk. Jemma's grip on Skye loosened and she could practically feel the happiness emanating off of Jemma's body, the exact way she remembered feeling the first time she rode.
Jemma was breathless. Even if she had the lungpower, she had no words to describe the feeling. It may have been the riding, but it also could have been Skye. Maybe a little of both.
Without warning, Skye brought her left leg over to the right side of the horse so that she could slide right off.
"Hey! What are you doing? Help me down!" Jemma told her. Skye just smiled up at her mischievously.
"Scoot forward, for starters." Skye told her, putting her fingers to her lips as if she was judging Jemma's form, which she was. Jemma only did what she was told because Skye clearly had control of the horse and Jemma didn't want to be sitting in the back without someone to grab onto if he was to move again.
"Oh, no. Tell me how to get off without falling on my face." Jemma begged Skye.
"You can't get off at the beginning of the ride, Jems." Skye teased. "Now heels down, toes up."
Dear Fitz,
Skye is teaching me how to ride...