Runaway Home - Part 1 ~ Chapter 4
This part of the story is inspired by B00k Freak and CeliaEquus and so some of the writing may be taken from the original story.
Skye woke first, her combat training kicking in at the presence on the opposite couch. Her eyes opened, but she made no other movement, and her eyes met her SO's in the dark.
"You okay?" She asked gently, mirroring Fitz's own words, and Skye knew that she'd been caught, somehow.
Best to at least try though. "Yeah." She said, shuffling around, waking Fitz in the process.
"Wha- Skye?" He sat up, blearily, then noticed May. "Oh, hello May." He yawned, "Should you two be training?"
Skye blinked heavily, looking to the microwave clock. "It's three AM Fitz, two more hours at least."
May regarded them both calmly. "You're good." She said softly. "A lot better than this time last year, that's for sure." Skye could feel the panic starting to claim her again. "But if you think you can lie to my face, you've got another thing coming."
Skye's breathing was getting faster, the fear setting in. She was wrong, she was broken, and none of them wanted her around, oh God what was she going to do? "It's okay." Two voices interrupted her thoughts in unison and Fitz and May looked at each other, surprised.
Fitz put a gentle hand on her shoulder and May spoke, slowly and calmly. "You're hiding something. You're not the only ones. Skye-" here her eyes flicked to Fitz sat next to Skye before moving back to look her protège in the eyes. "If I can do anything to help, just say the word."
The younger agents' eyes met. They both knew that the team was crazy right now, the mixture of emotions all melting together. May though. May was calm, collected. May wouldn't leave, May could keep secrets. Whether she was good at showing it or not, May loved them both dearly in her own way.
Could Skye put this on her though? On any of them? This was so much, too much. It was powers and scary and everything was so raw. "Breathe." May's voice pulled her from her stupor. "Like in tai chi, just breathe."
Skye noticed that Fitz held an empty beer bottle in the hand that wasn't wrapped around her shoulders and realised that it had probably started shaking. She did as instructed and the feeling dissipated. Maybe it was enough, if May was in on it. Maybe she could help. Between her and Fitz, they might be able to make it through.
How could she ask that of them though?
May moved to the floor near the couch and took Skye's bandaged hand. "Let me help you." She said softly. "Please."
With Fitz's soft comfort around her shoulders and May's firm presence in her hand, Skye nodded repeatedly, and damnit couldn't she do this once without crying? "I-I..." She tried to get it out, noting that she had rarely seen such fear in May's eyes. "The obelisk..." No, that wasn't right. "F-Fitz."
"I'm here." His arm around her tightened. "Do you want me to start?"
More nodding.
"Okay." Fitz pulled her tighter still. "Okay." He looked to May. "I lied earlier." He said softly, ashamed.
"About?"
"E-everything. I-I never knocked over the lamp. No one did." Now for the gut punch. "And I switched Skye's blood samples."
If anyone ever asked Fitz what panic looked like, he would describe Melinda May in that moment. "What?"
"It's not a disease." He quickly clarified. "Whatever happened with the- the- uuuhh..." He fought for the word.
"The obelisk." Skye completed. "I-it changed me. I-I- keep breaking things, like the lamp. Without touching it, i-it just shattered."
"I was there, I saw it." Fitz backed up, just in case May had any doubts. "It was half my fault."
"It was my fault Fitz, you were just telling the truth."
"I was being cruel, don't even- even pretend that I wasn't."
It had been a long time since Melinda had felt this panicked. Funnily enough it was the first time she met Fitz. Like she was standing in the middle of a busy highway, trying to keep up with things moving too fast for her. "Are you okay?" The most important thing.
Skye nodded. "Y-yeah, I think so. I'm not sick or hurt, I'm just..."
"Different." Fitz completed, and she nodded.
May nodded, absorbing the information. "Gifted." Compartmentalisation helped her get her bearings.
Both younger agents nodded. "Seems like the best word, yeah." Fitz muttered.
May breathed a sigh of relief and glared at her student. "Don't ever scare me like that again." She said firmly.
Skye looked up, surprised. "Huh?"
May pulled her into a tight embrace. "I thought you were in some kind of danger." She glowered.
Skye gave a breathy laugh. "Sorry."
"You're damn right you are."
Before she could get away, Skye returned the embrace, clinging to her SO. How many people would respond to 'I'm randomly blowing things up' with 'Oh thank God, I thought it was serious'?
Fitz joined in on the hug, and his eyes met May's over Skye's shoulder.
Looking him in the eye May mouthed, "tell her."
Fitz mouthed back,"not yet," to be met by May's death glare.
Skye was in her own world sinking into the safe embrace of Fitz and May. They could do this, together. As a team. A family.
After Sif and the Kree had departed, and everyone went to bed for the night, Leo grabbed his things and Skye's, whatever they could reasonably carry, including some of his things from the lab. Then he went to the vault and lowered the barrier, before shaking her awake.
"Wha…?"
"Come on, Skye," he whispered. "We have to go."
"Fitz..."
"I'm not letting you stay here like this. We're going to find someplace safer, I don't like the paranoia of everyone they're no longer looking at you as Skye more like some alien to be studied."
"You're…" She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "You're sending me away?"
"Taking you away. I have some ideas about where we can go. I did a bit of research, and it all boils down to us having to get to New York."
She stared at him. "Come again?"
"I brought your things." He placed a bag beside her. "Tell me if there's anything else you need for the journey. I'll withdraw all my cash at the first ATM we find, so they can't trace us beyond that. Your laptop's here, so you can mess with security cameras if necessary. We can find one of those schools of hairdressing, cheap hairstyling, get a new look. Just long enough to escape notice until we reach a safe place."
"This looks fine," she said. "But what about the security camera for this room?"
"Have you ever seen Speed?"
"…A feedback loop?"
"You've been sleeping soundly for an hour. I know; I checked. We only need it to go undetected for long enough to get as far from here as we can."
"Fitz, are you sure about this?"
"It's the only way, Skye. I don't trust them not to…"
"Hurt me?"
"Imprison you, at least. Y..You don't deserve that. You've had enough shit thrown at you."
She kissed him on the cheek without warning. "Thanks."
"It's alright. Just get changed quickly. I'll keep an eye out at the door."
"We need to leave some message for May we can't just abandon her without warning," said Skye once she'd finished dressing.
"I've already thought of that, I've written a letter for her which she should open once we're gone. It took a while but I managed to get it finished in time for tonight," Skye could see he'd taken great care to make his writing legible. "I left enough room for you to write at the bottom."
As soon as she had finished adding to Fitz's letter they slipped it under May's door on their way out of the Playground into the unknown.
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