A/N: And here I am with another chapter. Although I don't think that this is my best writing, but I hope it's okay. And I want to say thank you to all of you who catch up with this and are still reading this and also to those who reviews this at every new chapter uploaded.

Hope it's alright!

Disclaimer: Yeah yeah. I get it. Really.


Coulson sat by the rocks alone as he listened to the waves hitting the rocks and let the sound calm him. Andrew and Skye had been out again, to get supplies for their barbecue later in the evening. But although he tried to calm himself with the sounds of the waves, he could not stop himself from thinking about their conversation last night, their confession.

Was all of that true or was Skye just playing along?

And does he truly like Skye or was it more? Or was it lesser? Or was it because of his subconscious guilt of leaving his cellist alone? Was it because he wants to make himself feel like he can redeem himself from leaving the cellist he loved alone by being a companion for Skye? The one left alone for another who's lonely?

But he knows that he had had feelings for her since they first met. He had never met a person as full of life and personality as Skye does and he liked that bit of her that made her different from the others. And the fact that she had been so alone all her life, and furthermore to be betrayed by her own boyfriend who'd sold information, that is giving him all the more reasons to stay with her. Because he could understand what it feels like to be left alone, to be betrayed by the people he cared for and most importantly, he knows what it feels like to leave the people you love behind. And that is one feeling he can never forget and never be able to get over.

She loved you, Agent Coulson.

Does Irene still?

Because he knows that he could never move on if she still does. How could he open his heart for another when he had scarred the previous one? Even his heart literally is.

Even if he could move on, will Skye want someone so broken as he?

Don't even get started on the age gap. He hates how people talks about it. Why must age gaps be an issue even?

"Hey." Coulson turned to see Skye settling beside him on the rocks, "What are you thinking about?"

"How do I think when there's the hypnotizing sounds of the waves crashing?" He smiled at her.

Liar, liar.

"Ay yo, love birds! Come on over and fix yourself your own freaking lunch. I am not a babysitter!"

They had managed to get a mini stove from the owners for their own purposes. Andrew had kindly took it out and set it up in front of their cabin. He even had prepared the ingredients for them to cook. Andrew waved at the family from the next cabin as they got out of their lodging with helmets on their head, "Going for a ride?"

"Yeah. We love to cycle! We're going to cycle to lunch! Are you going to be cooking?" The head lady of the family responded to him as the rest of the family of 4 got out of their own lodgings and got on their bikes.

"Yup! We love the view here too much to go down." Andrew replied with a childish grin, "Enjoy your lunch, all of you!"

"You too!" They waved at him as they rode off.

Coulson and Skye simply smiled as they witness the exchange of interaction. When Andrew turned to see them grinning at him, his smile quickly went away, "I am not going to cook."

Skye made a pleading face.

"Coulson. You know I don't know how to cook."

Skye turned for an assurance in which Coulson confirmed, with a simple nod and a chuckle.

"Shut up. I can hear you laughing at me from here."

The two laughed and then, Coulson held out a hand, "Come on, I'll cook."

Of course, Skye took it in hers.


The next few days after, it was only the three going down for a ride around the area on their own rides - Andrew on his bike on his own as Skye was Coulson's passenger as he drove Lola.

They would randomly stop at a clearing, and they will lay out their picnic mats, taking out their sandwiches and drinks and set out to play more of Andrew's card and board games.

"How did you manage to stuff all this into Lola's trunk?" Coulson scolded him when being persuaded into a game.

They had had fun taking things slow for their holiday, not yet going into the adventurous stuff, and other than finding out about how much Coulson hates games where as Andrew loves them, there was another thing they found out too.

Skye and Coulson had not shared a bed ever since their camp night out and Andrew still sticks to his decision to share the bed with Skye.

It was made known to Coulson over a meal where there were only the two as Skye was taking a nap inside, "It's not that I don't want to share a bed with you. Other than the fact that I don't want to seem gay, it's that I was just afraid you might have your nightmares again."

"Oh."

"It's not that I meant to offend you. It's just that, I don't really know how to handle this stuff. And that night when I first saw you got it, with your hand thrashing about like that, I could get my head chopped off. How about you share the bed with Skye instead? She knows how to handle that."

"But I don't think it's appropriate. And I don't want her to sleep alone either. So, I just thought you could be a company for her. Can you?"

The younger agent understood what his mentor meant. He understood that his senior agent was afraid that he might hurt her but at the same time, he wants to let her know that she would never be lonely anymore.

It was on their tenth night in Camden when they found about that something about someone else.

Skye has nightmares too.

It was when she started sobbing and crying for help that it woke both agents up.

"Goddammit. Not her too? Now I feel like a babysitter!"

But Coulson on the other hand, practically jumped out of his bed and went over to Skye and held her hand, "Shhhh. Skye. Skye, come on. It's alright."

"Help me, Miss Nora."

Miss Nora?

"Okay, just tell me what's wrong."

"Tessa. She said she's going to kill me."

Coulson's heart broke and Andrew's mouth gaped open. Not only had she been lonely, she had been hurt too - at a young age. Even Andrew's heart ached at the thought of it. He himself could not imagine the things she had been through. Hell, if he'd been told that he was an 084, there is no way will there be a chance that he still has some common sense in him. And although he knew her for only less than two weeks but he would say he was proud to know a person as strong-willed as Skye.

"Miss Nora. Help me. You have to get rid of her. You know you have to stop her. You always do." The voice begged.

"Skye," Coulson held on to her hand tighter, "No one is going to hurt you. I will be always be here, alright? Shhh."

Andrew observed the tenderness Coulson expressed as he watch him stroke her hair, placing a hand on her cheeks to calm her down as the other still holding on tight.

"You want to sleep with her?"

Coulson looked at him, "Is it okay?"

"Go on. She needs you."

"Thanks."

As Andrew sat up after they had changed sides, he witnessed Coulson comfort Skye as she remained unconscious, he felt warmth inside his heart. He realized how this job had broken people so much. He realized how the slightest bit of companionship and comfort could mean so much to one. From the corner of his mouth, a small smile started to form until he heard Coulson sighed. That man worries too much and sometimes he could help him ease it.

"Andy?"

"Yes, Phillip?" Coulson still stroking Skye's hair as she slept, his gaze never lifting off from her face.

"Can you keep this all from Fury?"

"Keep what?"

"If Fury ever asked how either Skye or I am doing, can you please tell him that we are fine? That we are okay?"

"But I promised Fury to tell him -"

"Andrew Raimie Ryan. Please. Just don't. For me, please?"

Andrew sighed, "Why?"

"I don't want to be seemed vulnerable. And I don't want Fury to feel like SHIELD have hurt us both."

"I know it hurt her," Andrew raised an eyebrow, "How have they hurt you? New York? When you died?"

"No." He said softly, "When they brought me back to life."

"Why would that hurt?"

"Because I have to let the person I loved believed the truth that is not."

"Irene?"

"Do I deserve to love again?"

"Phillip, go to sleep."


A few days after Skye's nightmares, Coulson decided that it was time for them to get on their feet. He had went down to rent kayaks for them. Of course, Andrew had been looking forward to it, being the first to grab the life vest and a paddle. Skye, on the other hand was slightly afraid. First time kayaking, she doesn't even know that she has to paddle that thing.

Coulson laughed, amused at her attempts to get on it because she keep toppling over and eventually lost a hair clip. As Coulson tutored her step by step, the family that loved to cycle paddled their way by and waved at Andrew who had started to wander off on his own, "Hello, there!"

"Hi!" Andrew waved back at them, "Oh, don't tell me you love kayaking too!"

"Oh, yes we do!" The head of the family paddled next to Andrew and held out his hand, "Roberts. John Roberts."

"Oh," Andrew took his hand, "Andrew Ryan."

"I don't suppose your sister is the adventurous type?" John joined Andrew in observing Skye being tutored by Coulson.

"Sister? Oh, no. She's not my sister. That will be my colleague's girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" John's eyebrows raised, "Oh, I thought you were family. Sorry about that."

Andrew shrugged it off, "Oh nah, it's alright. Anyway, we're going to have a barbecue later on for dinner. Would you like to join us?"

"Like some potluck party? Why not? I'll inform my missus about that. We'll bring some of our own stuff too." John shook Andrew's hand again, "It's nice to meet you, Ryan. See you later, then?"

Andrew nodded with a smile as the Roberts reunited.

"More like sister-in-law, that is." Andrew muttered to himself.


That evening, when Andrew went down to get some ice for their drinks, Coulson went up to Skye who was preparing their pit, "Um, you do know that the family next door are going to be joining us later on?"

"Yup."

"You have to be my girlfriend."

Skye laughed as he said them until she turned to look at Coulson when she realized he was not joking, "Are you serious?"

He nodded, "And you are a consultant. Ryan and I are government agents and that we consult to you for help and then our love story comes from there."

Well, it is partially true, he thought, considering that his feelings for her are growing although he was not sure how.

"Wow. This is interesting. We should go on holidays more often." Skye grinned, "Now, boyfriend, can you be of help and get me a cup of water?"

He chuckled, "Of course, girlfriend dear."

And to Skye's surprise, he cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead, which left her frozen and speechless. Coulson laughed, "Now, girlfriend dear. You have to get used to that if you're going to continue pretending to be my girlfriend."

Throughout that evening when the Roberts joined them for their dinner barbecue, Coulson never seemed to leave Skye's side and neither did Skye leave his. In between the jokes cracked and the stories they exchanged, their hands were holding onto each other's throughout. Andrew felt a warmth in his heart when he saw how genuinely happy for the first time since forever Coulson had been. And he could not help but to stifle a childish giggle when they started feeding each other.

Instead of joining them to play monopoly after meal, Coulson decided to stick to barbecuing, "He doesn't like to play games because he keeps losing." Andrew reasoned.

"I heard that."

And Skye keep coming over to the pit to accompany Coulson and he would be glad to see her every time, reaching out his hand for her to hold.

"Isn't that against the policy? Fraternization?" Julia, the Mrs Roberts, asked Andrew as she rolled her dice for her turn.

"Oh no. Not at all." Andrew shrugged his shoulders, "She's just a consultant. Technically, she's not part of the organization."

Julie cringed, "But... I don't know. Isn't she... How should I say this?"

"Too young for him?" Andrew finished the sentence, "Well, it doesn't seem to bother them. I suppose they're fine."

"Seriously, mom?" The seventeen year old David of the Roberts glared at his mother, "Why would anyone care about age gaps when they really like each other?"

"Your turn," 23 year old Suzanne Roberts initiated her father's turn to roll the dice.

At a corner by the pit, Coulson had his arms wrapped around her waist as he stood behind her, watching her turn over the shrimps and chicken for barbecue - oblivious to the conversation. But deep down inside, the same question was bothering them. But they were not going to speak of it. Not then. Because they did not dare to ruin the moment they were having. Because they dare not ruin the genuine happiness they had not felt in a long time. They dare not ruin the company provided by each other.