A/N: Big, bib thanks to Nic for the editing!

I'm a dragon, you're a whore

Don't even know what you're good for

Mimicking me is a fucking bore to me

But babe

Lay me down tonight in my diamonds and pearls

Tell me songs at night about your favorite girl

I fucked my way up to the top

This is my show

Lana Del Rey - Fucked My Way Up To The Top

Undisclosed Location

2011

Skye liked to think that they were being careful with their relationship. They weren't overly affectionate in front of others and always had a plausible excuse to why they hung out together so much. Not that anyone questioned it, his wife was happy spending his money, Rose was buried under a ton of work so she didn't pay them any attention and they fought enough for their colleagues to believe nothing had changed.

What no one suspected was that for every hour they spent fighting it took double that time to make up. Which was usually under expensive sheets in Skye's soft bed. So the months passed by peacefully with with their secret kept that way safely. That is until the day Rose actually caught them red handed. Skye thought Grant had locked the door and Grant thought that Skye did but they both forgot it in the heat of the moment.

As it turned out that was the day Rose decided to pay a surprise visit to Skye after weeks of work and maybe treat her to dinner. But because life was an asshole Rose was the one that got surprised, by her brother's pale ass mind you, because someone (Skye!) couldn't wait till they reached the bedroom. One would think that she'd scream at them and demand for them to break it off, but Rose never really liked Sharon anyway. And once she saw how happy Skye and Grant made each other she gave her blessing and even covered for them on several occasions.

Like now, for example, where everyone knew that Skye was in Austin visiting Phil and Melinda, the people who were like parents to her, while Grant took some time off too and went to Los Angeles to visit his beloved grandmother. As far as the public knew Skye and Ward were miles apart, never mind that Rose actually booked two other secret flights for them to meet halfway to spend a few blissful days by themselves.

They'd done their research and found a secluded cabin in the woods of a private resort, which meant the security was high. So they'd spend a few days together and no one would be able to bother them. There was no TV, the fridge was stocked for at least a week and they had a huge soft bed to relax on. Plus the hot tub that Skye swore to defile as soon as possible. Not that Grant was opposed to the idea.

The only thorn in their perfect vacation was Sharon's constant presence even when she wasn't there. Calls, texts, emails, it was like she knew something was going on and it made Skye's mood sore. It wasn't like Grant could avoid her, so every time she called Skye would slip out of the room to stew in her own juices. She loved Grant, it was too early to tell him but she did and it ate her up inside when he talked to his wife. She had no right to feel like that, she knew that she was the third person in this triangle, but that didn't mean this wasn't cutting her in two.

She leaned against the doorway watching him pacing on the balcony while talking on the phone again. His face was scrunched up in a frown and if she really focused on it she could barely hear Sharon yapping about this or that at the other end of the line. She felt jealousy burn through her, wrapping like vines around her body trying to squeeze the life out of her. At that same moment his gaze locked with hers, he whispered something in his phone and ended the call quickly, two long strides later he was standing in front of her, his hands cupping her face gently.

"What's wrong?" he asked, resting his forehead against hers and Skye felt like breathing again, the pain in her chest stopping for just a second.

"Nothing." She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying herself into his warm embrace.

"Skye," he chastised softly. "Talk to me."

"It's just that we have these seven days to be alone and she hasn't stopped calling or texting. I mean I know she's your wife but I was hoping that I would have you all to myself for a while," she explained quietly, almost too scared to say the words.

"Is that all?" he asked solemnly and Skye nodded. He let go of her and stepped away turning towards the beautiful scenery before them. Skye watched him, taken aback by his behaviour and a little scared that maybe she had crossed a line. Grant grabbed his phone though and in one swift move launched it as far as he could. The expensive iPhone flew through the air before it crashed against a huge tree and then fell to its ultimate death.

"What are you doing?" she cried, the surprise evident in her features as she moved forwards the few steps that separated them, joining him at the edge of the balcony.

"You said the phone was bothering you so I got rid of it." He shrugged and picked her up placing her on the railing. Skye squealed and grabbed his biceps, holding on for dear life. Every worry faded away when his lips touched hers though and Skye wrapped her arms around his neck deepening the kiss, her legs hooking against his hips as she pulled him closer. "I love you," he said smiling as they pulled apart.

"I love you too," she said back mirroring his smile. Maybe it was too early, maybe they wouldn't last, but right now at this very moment it felt real and everything they both wanted.

Nothing could ruin their perfect week together.

New York

2011

"What the fuck is this?" Sharon slammed the paper in front of him but Grant couldn't be bothered to look up from his new phone. They'd had another row last night and he didn't feel like picking up where they left off. It was always the same old, same old with them. She wouldn't be happy with this or that and she'd take it out on him. He wished he could have stayed in that old cabin with Skye for a little while longer, pretending like the outside world didn't exist. That week had been the best time he had in awhile; they didn't get out of bed much, instead lying around just making love and working on new songs.

"In my family we call them newspapers," he answered evenly, barely sparing her a glance. He used to have an iPhone but Rosie insisted on a Blackberry for business reasons but he couldn't work the damn thing.

"Is that so?" She spat, venom colouring her voice. "Look at the front page!" His face paled as his eye landed on the thin paper, a huge picture of a couple taking up most of the page. He masked his surprise fast enough that Sharon couldn't read him. "I'd swear this is you and your little pet project." Her finger landed on the picture of them and Grant swallowed thickly.

The thing is that while he knew the couple in the picture was him and Skye nothing else gave them away, other than the article itself. The picture was blurred due to being taken from far away and their faces weren't visible since Skye had her back to the camera and his face was buried in the crook of her neck.

He felt bile rise up his throat as his mind faced back to that moment and the intimacy of the scene before him. He remembered it clearly; Skye had been seated on the railing of the balcony, wearing only his shirt and nothing else, her long legs wrapped around his waist. It was moments after they said 'I love you'. Did someone really catch that on camera or what they did after? The cabin was supposed to be a safe place, somewhere that no one could bother them.

"You're being ridiculous, Sharon." He pushed the offending paper away and tried not to think about how Skye must have reacted to this. "I was in Los Angeles the entire week and you know it very well. We talked on the phone almost every day and you called Gramsy several times."

"Like I'll believe the old hag doesn't cover up for you!" She hissed and Grant's eyes darkened at the way she referred to his grandmother. Gramsy was a second mother to him especially after his own passed away a few years ago. No one was allowed to talk about her in that manner.

"I can't deal with you when you're like that." He took one last sip from his coffee and rose from his seat. "I have work to do."

"That's just fucking perfect!" She called after his retreating form. "Walk away from this why don't you?!" Grant ignored her as he stepped inside the elevator. "Give my best regards to your whore!" was the last thing he heard before the steel doors slid closed.

~oOo~

He found Skye in Rose's office, a cup of coffee in her hand, pacing the floor relentlessly. He could imagine that this got to her as much as it got to him. There was a fine line between taking shots and invading privacy, and the paparazzi should know better by now. "You saw it too?" he asked and opened his arms so she could slip inside.

"Everyone in the fucking world saw it!" she whispered burying her face against his chest. "It's everywhere. On the papers, on the Internet, every talk show is all over it."

"We have to come up with something." Rose cut in typing furiously on her iPad. "I'm already talking with the legal department and the resort manager. I was promised privacy and what I got was paps running around," she hissed under her breath. "Good news is that they can't see your faces so it could be anyone."

"Are you sure?" Skye asked hopefully.

"You saw the picture. All they have are two people that kind of look like you. It could be anyone! There's no booking showing that either of you was at the resort, you were in Austin and Grant in LA, no payments made by you and no other sightings implying that you were lying about your original locations."

"Rumlow." Grant whispered to himself tuning Rose out. "Where's Rumlow?"

"In New York for the next few weeks." Rose asked turning to face him. "What about Brock?" Brock Rumlow had been Rosie's best friend since pre school. They were so close that everyone thought, and both their mothers hoped, they would end up together eventually. Which would have been the case if they didn't bat for the same team.

Through the years though Rose had to act like a front for him quite a few times. They all came from uptight families as it was and Brock's political background didn't help either. If word got around that he was gay his father would disown him. That's why he choose business instead of politics and was mainly left to his own devices unless some social function demanded his presence which in extension meant that Rose would accompany him too.

"He's the same height as me, right?" Rose nodded looking at him puzzled. "And he has the same build too."

"What are you getting at?" His little sister asked tapping her foot impatiently. Skye materialised beside him, leaning against his arm and he wrapped her in an embrace.

"You just said that the only thing they have is a picture of two people that look like us, it could be anyone. Like you and Brock for example!" It was like a light bulb went off in Rose's head and she smiled deviously.

"I have an idea." She murmured reaching for her phone.

~oOo~

"What happened was a great invasion of privacy and both Ms Ward and Mr Rumlow are very deeply disturbed. That trip was supposed to be for personal reasons since they decided to give their relationship another chance." They watched Bobbi, their new PR head, as she gave out the announcement Rose had very carefully worded. If you wanted to be perceived as the perfect victim you had to play it a certain way. "Those articles and photo spreads not only violated their privacy but went on to harm the rest of their family too. Grant Ward and Skye had never had any kind of personal relationship other than working together and sharing a deep friendship. Mr Ward is still happily married to his wife and they don't plan on changing that any time soon." Cameras flashed left and right as they all tried to capture the moment. For their turn the Ward siblings and Skye decided to stay back and not attend the press conference.

"My clients plan on moving legally against the tabloids and the reposters that were quick to drag their names through the mud. It's going to be hard but we plan on coming out of it as winners. No one should be subjected to what they were the past few days, and more so have people speak about their person without even knowing them." She wrapped up gathering her papers as the questions started raining down on her. "That will be all ladies and gentlemen, the rest will be settled in court. Thank you!" Bobbi stepped down from the podium and walked out of the room quickly.

Grant changed the channel as soon as the shot cut back to the reporters, they didn't need to hear anything else. "Sometimes I'm scared of you." Skye murmured from beside him making Rose smile. "This was a very elaborated lie for someone that swears up and down she's one of the most honest people in the job."

"I'm honest with my job," Rose retorted filling her glass of wine again. "But if you come after me with a knife I'll chase you down with a gun. No one is allowed to hurt my family and they should know about that by now. I told them repeatedly you were off limits and if something juicy came up I'd alert them to it personally."

"Like that day at the beach?" Grant asked referring to the day every citizen in America thought Skye was dating Kanye West because he had invited her over for a beer at his beach house. Truth was that Kanye just wanted to be a part of one of her songs and they were discussing it. That didn't stop the press from planning their wedding and naming their firstborn though.

Boy, was Kim pissed off!

"Exactly like that day at the beach." Rose shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "It's business, in order to stay on top of things you have to keep the press and the public happy. The photos did just that."

"Yeah, and I was almost strangled to death by Kim Kardashian's ass!" Skye huffed and they burst into laughter. Well no one said business was always pleasurable.

~oOo~

"I wrote something new." She mumbled against his neck and Grant hummed softly. She had tire him out quite a bit the last few hours and Skye felt almost bad for the poor thing. But when it came to making love she was insatiable, maybe it was the fact that he was that good or that what they had was that special but Skye couldn't get enough of his kisses and his caresses and the way he felt inside her. "Wanna hear it?" she questioned resting her head on her hand.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" he asked sleepily. "You kind of run me to the ground." Skye pouted and fell beside him on the bed, turning her back to him. Grant rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist. That always did the trick, the pout always got her what she wanted. Well, most of the time anyway. "I'll hear it but then you have to let me sleep at least six hours, I'm getting weak in my old age." He teased.

"You weren't complaining half an hour ago," she shot back saucily. "You said a lot of things but you weren't complaining." She stuck her tongue at him as she rolled out of the bed, stark naked. She heard him mumble something under his breath and smiled, not really needing to hear his words to know what he said. Something told her they'd actually go another round later instead of sleeping.

It's a funny thing how people tell you about love but you can't quite understand it unless you've felt it. That deep, unyielding kind of love, the one that can either make you laugh 24/7 or cry like your life just ended. That's what being with Grant felt like, like he was the air she breathed and the pillow that suffocated her at the same time. But at the same time he deserved every single second she suffered alone in her bed while he was away. Because he'd come back to her as soon as he was able to do so.

"It's a big fuck you to the press," she murmured as she let the music sheet fall on his lap. Grant's eyes ran over the lyrics once, twice, three times; reading and re reading what she'd written. She was prepared to put up a fight with him, just like any other time after all but his reaction took her by surprise.

"You know I normally would bitch and moan about a song like this," he started off. "But after what happened I think we have to go forward and produce it. I have the perfect person to help us bring it together in the best way possible." Skye squealed in delight and threw herself in his arms.

"Now, about that nap..." she said before she pulled his lips down against hers.

~oOo~

There weren't many talk shows Skye enjoyed attending, or many reporters she liked to have a sit down with for that matter. So when the time to promote the song came she put her foot down and said she'd only go on Jemma's and Leo's show. She needed to get this out and get it out the right way and only FitzSimmons, as the press lovingly dubbed them, would be able to do that without trying to trash talk her more.

It had taken them weeks to get the cabin mess under control and even months later the press still went crazy over it. Most of the people were convinced that it was indeed a hoax and that it was Rose and Brock in the pictures but there were still the ones that questioned it and swore up and down that there was something more between the two of them. The only good thing though was that in order to get Sharon to behave Grant sent her on a trip to Milano with his Black American Express and that meant they had a lot of time alone.

Listening to the track now, Grant was right, bringing his mentor into the mix was the best decision ever. John brought something into the song that made it skyrocket to number one overnight. 'Fucked My Way Up To The Top' was everything like no other song Skye had written before. It was snarky and dark and called out every single asshole that labelled her a sell out or talentless or claimed that the only reason she had a deal in the first place was her talent in blowjobs. Which wasn't a lie, she was good at blowjobs, it just so happened that her talent for oral had nothing to do with her music.

As always FitzSimmons had a warm welcome for her backstage and caught up on what was going on with her life and about the questions they were going to ask. When Leo brought up the scandal she gave him an all clear to address it however he wanted. Which meant that when he did ask she was prepared.

"You know I hate to barge into your personal life," Leo started off. "But as a huge fan I was quite upset with all the rumours and the venom towards you. How did you feel and how is your new song connected with all that?"

"I'm so glad you brought that up." She smiled grateful at the way he approached it, direct yet still with tact. "What went down a few months ago will probably be filed as one of the worst moments of my life. Not only because my name was dragged through the mud but also for what two close friends went through. What happened to me was cruel but for Rose and Brock it was even worse. I think the media need to take a step back and stop interfering in other people's love lives." Both Leo and Jemma nodded along agreeing completely with her. "I was so upset by the things that were said about me that I cried for days and then I had a lovely conversation with John Garrett, he co produced the track with Grant, and he told me that I would never be able to please anyone or make everyone like me so I'd better start living for me and not for them."

"And that gave birth to the song?" Jemma asked in her serene voice.

"Yes, that gave birth to my new single." She smirked. To be honest the song was welcomed better than they thought and it only made her fans love her more. "I wrote the words, Grant helped me write the music and John helped with the remix. This track is my answer to all the negative things I've heard the past few months, this is the only time I'll address something along those lines."

"We sure hope something like that won't happen again." Leo smiled at the camera signalling the end of the show. FitzSimmons respected her wishes and didn't press for more details. "This has been Fitz and Simmons in The Morning, thank you so much for joining us!"

This should keep everyone at bay for now but Skye was sure they'd come after them again. There was a never ending game with the press and she knew it very well when she first got into the business. Sometimes it bothered her others it didn't, she was thankful she at least had people that loved her around her.