The next update is here! I've really been looking forward to writing this one, because after here, you'll start seeing a real plot start to develop with Kara, Grant and Skye. Also, the Skyeward moments will definitely start now! I will be incorporating some of the show into this fic, with the 'Real SHIELD', but you'll have to stayed tuned to find out more about that! :)
Also, I've recently published an Inhuman heavy fic Translucence so if you want to read more about Afterlife, maybe you could check that out?
But more importantly, enjoy this chapter and please tell me what you thought by reviewing!
Thanks to all the people who have followed/favourite/reviewed this fic. Recently, I reached over 100 followers, so thanks so much! I love all you guys!
CHAPTER EIGHT: Making Your Own Decisions
Grant
Kara manages to convince me to stay in New York for a little longer. We drive out of town, manage to 'find' some more money, and return to the apartment. Then Kara drags me out for bagels and coffee, claiming that she's hungry.
"Come on, Grant, it'll be fun!" She wheedles. I agree grudgingly, although I do remind her that we're fugitives from the law, not tourists.
The streets are dark and half empty, because it's near nightfall. Most people are in their homes, away from the cold.
"HYDRA hasn't attacked us for a while." I comment to her as I shove my hands in my pockets. "Do you think they're too busy with SHIELD?"
"Probably." Kara nods, her dark hair smoothed in front of her scars. "Whatever the reason, I'm glad. At least we don't have to be bothered by them."
"But we still need to keep up our guard." I caution. She nods again.
"Hey, Grant?" She asks. "Do you think SHIELD would really kill you if they saw you?" Her voice is uncertain, perhaps because she knows that if I was to die now, she would be alone. And neither of us thinks she's quite ready for that yet.
"I know you've done some terrible things, but wouldn't they try and hear you out?" Kara persists.
"They'd kill me even if they heard my side, Kara." I tell her gently. "I betrayed their trust for a madman, and they can't understand why I would trade all that they gave me for him."
"Why did you do that then?" Kara asks. "He wasn't exactly kind to you, was he?"
I sigh.
"It's hard to explain, Kara." I tell her gently. Kara looks at me with a look of sadness in her dark eyes. "What?" I prompt her, stopping suddenly. Kara looks down.
"Kara?" I frown. "What's wrong?"
"You're such a great guy, Grant." Kara grabs hold of my sleeve with her cold fingers, her sad eyes gazing at me. "Why can't they see it? It's obvious you want them back. So why can't they see that?"
I shrug.
"They can't look past what I did. And I can't say I blame them." I say softly.
Kara keeps looking at me for a few more seconds, before her eyes focus on something past my shoulder.
"Grant, look!" She points. I turn around to follow her finger, and see that she's pointed towards a little coffee shop. I narrow my eyes, trying to see what she's pointing at.
Then I see it. Or rather, her.
Skye.
She sits behind the foggy glass, her hair falling into her face as she sits hunched over a laptop. There's a coffee cup next to her, but she's barely touched it. For a brief moment, I wonder if she's okay, why she's there, if she's okay. But I quickly shove the thoughts out of my head, because I no longer care about Skye. She made it pretty clear how she feels about me, and I made it clear what I feel about her last time we met. Or what I don't feel about her, really.
"I wonder what she's doing." Kara muses.
"It's not our concern." I turn my body away from the window across the street. I'm done with Skye. So done.
"She looks alone." Kara comments.
"Come on, let's get your stupid bagels." I tell her as we start to walk away. I've walked maybe 5 steps when I realise Kara's not with me anymore.
I spin around suddenly, my eyes searching for her. How were we attacked without me noticing? Where the hell is Kara? Panic fills me, because I can't see her. I'm not used to the blind panic inside me, because I've never felt this about someone before… Not unless it's Skye.
And then I see her. Relief fills me, as I realise that she's okay. She's running across the street, and for a moment I frown. What is she doing?
And then I see exactly where she's headed.
Skye. She's headed for Skye.
I don't think. I just act. I take off running, darting through cars with one aim in mind. Get to Kara before she gets to Skye. I don't want her to get to Skye. I want to get rid of Skye from my life, not bring her further in. But Kara has a head start, so she skids into the café, yanking the door open.
"Kara!" I yell desperately. I don't know why I'm fighting this so hard. Maybe it's because whenever I see Skye, whenever I think about Skye, I start wondering about her. Her and me.
Kara doesn't hear me, or maybe she doesn't even bother listening to me. All I know is she strides into the café, the door shutting behind her.
I'm quickly at her heels, pulling the door open almost as soon as it's shut. The café is warm and inviting, but I'm not here for the atmosphere. My eyes scan the café for Kara, and when I see her, I walk briskly over to her.
"Kara." I say, ignoring Skye even as she looks up at me. "Come on."
"Sit down, Grant." Kara replies, pulling out the seat from next to her. I notice Skye stiffen in my peripheral vision. "The coffee here looks great! We'll eat here."
"Kara." My tone turns slightly pleading. Although I hate to sound like this in front of Sk- her – I don't worry about it.
"Grant." She copies my tone, blinking her May Eyes at me. "Please? I've been really good!"
"You nearly burnt down the kitchen this morning." I point out even as I surrender to Kara. She rarely asks for anything, so I should honour this. Even if I hate seeing Sk- her.
I pull out the chair and sit down heavily, my body language screaming 'defensive'. Skye glances up at me through her lashes, her eyes displaying a mixture of emotions that I can't quite pinpoint.
Kara orders our food and coffee, while I do my best to stare at Skye, trying to intimidate her. I have no feelings for this girl. None.
"What brings you to New York, Skye?" Kara asks her politely, as we're all old friends meeting for coffee instead of mortal enemies.
"Nothing much." She shrugs, her brown eyes darting around, flitting from me to Kara. "What about you?" She asks that question tentatively. I narrow my eyes at her, but Kara kicks me in the leg as I open my mouth to talk. The movement barely bruises me, but I still feign pain.
"Shut up, Grant." She says, shooting me a meaningful look. "Can you promise me to behave?"
"I'm not a child, Kara Lynn." I pull out her middle name. Kara merely sticks out her tongue at me.
"Thank you for behaving, Grant Douglas." She says in a sing song voice before turning back to Skye, who's watching us with bemusement.
"Sorry about Grant, Skye." She says, smiling softly. "He's not a people person."
"Oh." She says, still frowning. Something seems to have confused her, maybe the fact that Kara and I have such an easy friendship, when I was never like this with the Bus Team. And then, I was trying to make them trust me. Maybe Skye doesn't understand why I'm being like this with Kara, when I apparently have no ulterior motive here.
"How are you, then?" Kara asks, apparently deciding that small talk is necessary here. "Well and healthy?"
"We know you're not with SHIELD." I can't bite the words back. Skye's big brown eyes dart back up to me.
"Yes, I'm not with SHIELD anymore Ward." She says softly, curling her fingers into her palms. "I had to leave. Because they, like everyone else, grew tired of me. Is that what you want me to say? Do you want me to tell you about how alone and isolated I am?" Her voice gets increasing loud, and Kara shushes her, not wanting to attract attention.
"Why?" The question falls from my lips involuntarily. I wasn't meant to ask it – I don't care about the answer – but a part of me couldn't help but care. We spent months on a small enclosed plane together, and for the most part, I was infatuated with her. Even after she put four bullets in me, I can't help but care. Because that's me. I'm weak. Weak and stupid.
Skye glances down.
"I…" She trails off. She bites down on her bottom lip, maybe considering whether to tell us the truth. The waitress brings over Kara's and my coffee, and a cake for Kara. Kara thanks her, and then the waitress leaves.
"I had to leave SHIELD. After Puerto Rico, things… changed." Skye says, the words crashing into each other in her hurry to get them out. I get the feeling that we're the first people she's said this to, so maybe she really wants to get it off her chest.
"Changed?" Kara questions. "Changed how?"
I take a sip of my coffee, grimacing slightly as it burns my tongue. But that pain is barely non-existent compared to the many, many kinds of pain that I have experienced in my 30 years on this earth.
"I went into the temple, just like my father wanted." She says. "And the diviner, it did just what Raina and he said it would. It made me into a monster." Her words drip with bitterness. "So when Coulson, Simmons and the others found out… they shunned me. All except Fitz, that is. They were scared of me, because I could hurt them. Because I was a weapon now, and I was a weapon that couldn't be put away or turned off or controlled."
"So you left?" Kara whispers, her hands clutching at her coffee, her eyes wide. Skye nods, her eyes looking ashamed at her vulnerability.
"I had to. Who knows what they would have done? I would have ended up locked up like-"
"Me?" I interrupt her. Both Kara and Skye turn to look at me. Skye's mouth is left ajar slightly.
"You?" Kara frowns, not understanding.
"SHIELD locked me up in a dark hole in the ground for weeks. They left me without company, only coming to see me when they needed something. Other than that, they left me to rot." I say without emotion. "So if you had stayed at SHIELD, they might have treated you the same way. Like a monster instead of a human being."
Kara reaches out and pats my shoulder in comfort. Skye blinks at me a few times, realisation dawning in her eyes.
"Where are you staying, Skye?" Kara asks suddenly. Skye looks back down again.
"My van." She admits. I choke on the next sip of coffee.
"You have another van?" I exclaim once I've recovered. "Seriously? What is it with you and vans?"
"Vans remind me of home." Skye argues back. "Vans are cool, Ward."
"You're sleeping in a van?" Kara's brows knit together. "But how cold is that?"
"I'm used to it." Skye assures her. Kara, however, doesn't seem to believe her, and instead reaches across the table and grabs at her hands. Skye jumps at Kara's touch, and tries to move away, but Kara's fingers are stronger than steel. She stares into Skye's brown eyes with hers.
"New York is cold at night, Skye." Kara says gently.
"So?" Skye says, some of her own snark coming back into her words.
"Come stay with us." She says impulsively. "For the night. So you don't freeze that much."
I stare at Kara, and Skye mirrors my look.
"What are you saying Kara?" I half growl at her. "What are you saying?"
"Come and stay with us." Kara repeats, only looking at Skye and completely ignoring me. "For the night. I can't let you freeze. In the morning, you can go. But tonight, I insist that you stay with Grant and I."
"Kara, I'm not having her with us!" I can't help but explode at her. "She shot me, remember?"
Kara shoots me a glare.
"Of course I know. I was the one who pulled them out of you, remember that? But I can't let her freeze." She argues back with me.
"And I can't let her-" I start, but Kara cuts me off, her eyes burning.
"Grant, you're always telling me to make my own decisions. To start to live my life as me, and not as Whitehall's puppet. So let me make my own decisions." Her dark eyes bore into my soul. "Please."
I stare at her, torn. Kara has a point. She does need to make her own decisions. But why does her first major decision have to involve Skye?
Kara smiles over at Skye, knowing that I have no way to tell her no. Because if I do, I'm basically defying everything I've taught her over our time together.
"It's decided. You'll stay with us tonight." She tells Skye. "Whether you like it or not."
