AT LEAST WE'RE IN THE DARK TOGETHER
Chapter 4.
A/N Thanks for the faves and follows. They mean a lot to me, even though it's just fun to write what I find interesting. Sorry for those who ship other couples, but this is starting to get into "ship shape" if you will.
A newly washed and changed Skye peeked into the lounge only to find it empty. She reversed track and headed down to the lab where Coulson sat perched on a chair with a pained look on his face. Jemma was carefully removing the blood-stained bandage from his forehead, and she looked up when Skye entered.
"Just replacing it with a clean one." She told Skye when she saw her worried look. "He says he isn't dizzy or nauseous, so I think it's just a superficial injury." She looked down at her patient when he flinched. "Come on Agent Coulson, you've had worse than this."
"I know," he replied. "I guess it's just starting to have a cumulative effect on me." He sighed and stood up when Jemma finished. Skye and Jemma shared a worried look. Coulson got quiet, almost like he forgot they were in the room. His earlier anger seemed gone, and although strangely distant, he seemed more back to his old self. Everyone turned to look when Ward strode in.
"Sir," he began looking beseechingly at his boss. "I take full responsibility for what happened in the lounge earlier. I was so… out of line."
Coulson continued to stare at his shoes as he responded in a soft voice. "It wasn't you're fault, Ward. I'm the one who took it too far. We've both been under a lot of stress. Hell, the whole team is pretty beat up." He looked up at Ward. "I haven't been much of a leader to you all lately and I'm sorry."
And that's when the strangeness happened again. Ward took a step toward Coulson, not at all thinking about how this was backing the older man up into a corner of the room. Ward just wanted to shake and make peace between them. Just as Coulson pulled up into the corner, Jemma accidentally tipped a tray of instruments onto the floor making a very loud clanging sound. Skye happened to be focused on her boss's face and was startled at the instant and powerful expression of anger that erupted there. Everyone stopped in confusion.
"Sorry, sir," Jemma spoke first, but Coulson did not seem to register her words. He began sweating and breathing hard.
There's that scared rabbit look again. Skye motioned the others to stay away from him. They watched in concern as he seemed to be seeing something they couldn't. Finally, his breathing slowed, and he seemed to slump in on himself.
"Sorry," he apologized again, but this time Skye was having none of it.
"What are you sorry for AC?" She asked gently. He looked around in confusion, not seeming to remember where he was for a moment.
"Maybe you should sit down, sir." Jemma commented. "Let me do a scan of that head. There may be some internal bleeding…."
"NO!" The anger was flashing in Coulson's eyes again. "Just… just leave me alone. Ok?" He turned and fled from the lab.
"Well, what the hell?" Ward commented. "He's like Jekyll and Hyde lately, and I don't know what to do to help." Skye stepped around the tall warrior and began to follow Coulson out of the lab.
"Skye, be careful." Jemma called. She watched her friend exit with more than one misgiving. Was Agent Coulson dangerous?
…..
Skye waited for a bit in the hallway. Coulson had not noticed that his door was slightly ajar and she could hear him moving about and then the shower running. Looking to see that no one saw her, she slipped into his room and closed and locked the door. Then she waited. A few minutes later he came out of the bathroom dressed in a tee shirt and jeans. He didn't see her at first, and she took the moment to study him. He was so much smaller than Ward, but he was all muscle. She bet that, if measured, his body fat percentage would be less than 10 percent. And, she knew he must be strong by the way his muscles filled out the tee shirt at the chest and arms, but not, like a lot of middle-aged men, at the waist. His jeans fit him tighter than the suit pants, and she was impressed there as well.
I'm sexually ogling my boss! What's up with THAT? She looked up to see him fixing her with a pointed stare. Skye couldn't help but think he was unprofessionally sizing her up as well. There was that chronically measured age difference, but in mind and spirit, they were much closer. She realized too, not being a virgin herself, that she was attracted to a man physically not just by youth and smooth skin, but by other less measureable criteria like personality, voice, smell and touch. Right now she was wondering very much what his chest might feel like if she ran her fingers over it.
Clueless, as usual, Coulson took her staring at his chest in entirely the wrong way.
"What? You want to see it?" He asked resignedly. "It's pretty damn ugly. Probably give you nightmares."
Well, maybe I can put this misconception right. Skye crossed the room and stood in front of him. Her proximity made him stand a little straighter and she reached for the hem of his tee shirt without ever letting her eyes leave his. He reached down to stop her.
"Okay, I really meant that. It's hideous." He said in an even voice.
"I still want to see." Skye kept her voice just as even.
Coulson sighed. "Why? Can't you just let me have my privacy?"
"It's not your privacy you want AC," Skye replied. "It's your shame. You've convinced yourself that you are unworthy of even being seen." His eyes left hers and refocused on the floor. She knew he heard the truth of her words. Slowly he began to pull his shirt up and then off revealing the scar in all its reality. It's pink and hairless jagged line crossing his heart with what he felt was a symbol of his failure to stop Loki, to help his friends, to save the day.
Skye did not flinch away or show revulsion. She asked him if it hurt to touch it instead.
"You…you'd want to do that?" He was stammering now.
"Yes. It's a part of you now. Just like mine is a part of me. It's not a symbol of failure, incompetence or any other ugly thing. It's a badge of honor, my friend. However you blame yourself for what happened when you got it, you must admit that your intentions were brave and honorable. You are human. You are not a God." She remembered a story he had told her about Thor and continued, "If you remember, Thor had to learn humility to become his true self." She smoothed her hand over his scar and over his heart. "This is not ugly, AC. This is a symbol of your true self, and you have no reason to ever doubt what that is. It's why I love you."
To be continued.
