Everything seemed to be as it was after the barn was rebuilt. Skye nor Jemma mentioned the fact that she was going back to England in four days. Jemma walked into the kitchen for breakfast and this time she wasn't surprised to find Skye there, eating what was probably her third bowl of cereal. Phil was making scrambled eggs, but Skye was too hungry and impatient to wait.
"Want to go riding?" Skye perked up to ask when Jemma walked into the room. Many of the horses that belonged to Skye's clients were still at their own homes, recovering from their burns. None of them had been fatally injured, but their owners weren't ready to part with them yet. That meant Skye had time.
Skye wasn't used to having time and it was driving her stir crazy to have fifteen less horses to take care of than usual. After feeding the horses she had nothing to do but hang out and eat a second breakfast with Phil until Jemma finally woke up.
"Sure." Jemma answered, gathering fruits and yogurt to put in the blender and make a shake.
"How do you eat- sorry, drink- that crap?" Skye asked.
"You should eat more like her, Skye. It's healthier and costs less money." Phil informed her.
"A fruit shake is a very nutritional breakfast, Skye. What is that, sixty grams of sugar per serving?" Jemma asked, pointing at the cereal box on the table.
"No, it's..." Skye grabbed the box, prepared to defend her choice of breakfast cereal. "Fifty-nine." Skye told her, sticking her tongue out.
"Ok, I stand corrected." Jemma said sarcastically.
"Here kid." Phil put a plate of scrambled eggs and watched in amusement as Skye downed them without a problem.
"I don't understand it." Jemma marveled at Skye and leaned against the kitchen counter, taking a sip of her drink. "I don't know where it all goes." Phil almost choked on his eggs and Skye looked like she was a mixture of offended and proud at the same time.
"I'm going to go tack up Calypso and Sunshine, I'll see you in a few." Skye playfully pushed Jemma out from in front of the sink with one finger and placed her dishes at the bottom.
"Alright." Jemma told her, sitting down to finish her breakfast with her uncle.
"Did you enjoy your summer?" He asked Jemma. Jemma's mood instantly dropped down to zero on the happy scale.
"I don't want to go back." Jemma confided in Phil. Her eyebrows furrowed and Phil noticed the way Jemma's finger ran along the rim of her cup, even though she would usually never touch a glass in the same area she touched her mouth to.
"Is it because of Skye?" Phil asked her. "It's ok to tell me." He assured her, putting down his fork so Jemma could speak.
"I'm going to miss her. I'm going to miss you, and Sunshine, and everything about this place." Jemma sighed.
"Are you two going to the festival together?" He asked her.
"I really want to, but she hasn't asked." She said. Jemma was surprised with her own willingness to open up. She'd never actually voiced her feelings for Skye, the only person she told was Fitz, and she did it in the written language.
"What are you waiting for? Why don't you ask her?" Phil questioned his niece.
"You wouldn't mind?" Jemma was surprised. Phil laughed until he realized that she was serious.
"Of course I wouldn't mind, Jemma, why would I mind?"
"Well, she's your employee, so-"
"Jemma, you've been living here for two months. You should know that Skye is nothing like an employee." Phil told her. "I see her more like family."
"Are you suggesting I date my cousin?" Jemma made a face at him, but they both knew she was joking and chuckled a bit.
"I'm glad now that I didn't try to adopt Skye like I had planned. That would have turned into a mess." Phil sighed. Jemma was shocked. Her uncle wanted to adopt Skye? Jemma felt sorry for Skye, she probably didn't know this. But she was also thrilled that Skye had gotten emancipated instead, or it would have been really weird to try to date her. Her mother and father probably wouldn't approve of incest, even if they were adoptive family.
"Ask her to the festival, Jemma. And do it soon. If I know Skye, she'll start putting up walls soon." Phil warned her.
"Why?" Jemma asked.
"Because you're leaving. If you don't push a relationship, even a friendship, Skye is going to start cutting ties to you. She's used to people leaving and that's just what she does. If you don't make sure she knows you're not abandoning her, she's going to shut you out." He explained. Jemma swallowed a lump in her throat. She didn't want Skye to think she'd abandoned her when she went back to England.
"Uncle Phil?"
"What is it?"
"You like having me here, right?"
"You really think I'm ready?" Jemma asked in disbelief. She and Skye were sitting on horseback in the middle of a field.
"I'm sure of it. You've dedicated a whole summer to learning how to ride and I'd say you're ready for anything. Except stuff like barrel racing and bronc riding." Skye told her.
"Remember how it felt the first time we rode together? Remember that." Skye brought up memories of that first week and Jemma realized how much she truly was going to miss Skye. "Don't try to ride your horse, let your horse give you a ride." Skye advised her. "Now follow my lead." She smiled and clicked to Calypso, who was excited to get going and whinnied before picking up his hooves and loping.
Jemma took a deep breath and signaled to Sunshine, who seemed to know she was ready. The air against her face was going to make her lips chapped later, but Jemma smiled and squealed with delight when she caught up to Skye. Skye turned to look at her and smirked before Calypso sped up. The two were soon neck and neck in a race across the field.
Jemma could feel the pulsing rhythm of Sunshine's hooves beneath her and she could feel the rocking motion from the way the horse's body moved.
When they reached the end, they both slowed to a trot and laughed with delight. Jemma leaned out of the saddle to reach over and give Skye the high five she was requesting.
"Congratulations. You're a cowgirl now, you've aced Skye's AP riding class." Skye joked. Jemma couldn't do anything but smile. She was out of breath from the exhilaration, but she didn't want to admit it to Skye, who looked like she could go on for hours.
"Look. The first stars are coming out." Jemma pointed upwards.
"South Hill?" Skye asked. Jemma nodded and began trotting to the hill they usually stargazed on, but Skye just waggled her finger and took off.
"You're in the big leagues now, cowgirl!" Skye called back at her. Jemma nudged Sunshine with her legs and charged after Skye.
"Which one of us is the preacher's daughter now?" Jemma asked when she passed by Skye.
"Oh, it's still you." Skye yelled and urged Calypso into a full gallop. Jemma watched the stallion from behind as he ran at an unnaturally pace. That wasn't fair.
"Do you really have to go back?" Skye asked. Maybe Jemma was paranoid, but she started noticed what Phil had said to her while they were laying in the grass and looking up at the sky. Usually Skye wasn't embarrassed to cuddle right up to Jemma and use her arm as a pillow, but she kept her distance and Jemma shivered in the chilly night air.
"I have school." Jemma told her.
"Online courses?" Skye suggested.
"On what?"
"Good point." Skye muttered. "At least we still have the festival." Skye said sadly.
"What's wrong?" Jemma asked, propping herself up at Skye and staring at that view instead of the constellations above her.
"Nothing." Skye said, turning to face Jemma.
"You're wearing your pouty face." Jemma stated.
"What pouty face?"
"That one! Right there!" Jemma pointed at Skye's face and Skye crossed her eyes goofily to stare at the finger hovering dangerously close to her nose.
"Nope. Don't know what you're talking about." Skye told her. Jemma straddled Skye's stomach, not even embarrassed like she would have been two months ago, to prove her point.
"The face where you furrow your eyebrows-" Jemma put two fingers on Skye's eyebrows and pushed them together.
"And you make this turtle face with your mouth..." Jemma used two fingers of one hand and put each on the corners of Skye's mouth, pulling them downwards so Skye's mouth looked like an upside-down U. Skye smiled and playfully slapped away Jemma's hand. Skye's hands came to rest on Jemma's thighs and Jemma's ended up on Skye's shoulders.
Jemma stared down into Skye's eyes and she could see the stars in them, reflecting the light that came from above them.
"Seriously, what is it?" Jemma rolled off of Skye and sat next to her. Skye started playing with a button on her shirt.
"Did you have someone special who didn't come by and invite you to the festival?" Jemma asked. She had to know.
"They didn't ask." Skye whispered. Jemma's heart sunk, but she was glad Skye had someone else for when she left.
"Well he's an idiot." Jemma told Skye, putting her hand on Skye's shoulder.
"You're an idiot, Jemma." Skye told her, grabbing her hand and holding it tightly. Jemma looked confused for a minute before Skye rolled her eyes.
"For god's sake, come to the god damn festival with me!" Skye burst out laughing. Jemma's eyes widened and she didn't know what to feel. Was Skye seriously waiting to see if Jemma liked her the whole time? Just like her?
Jemma covered her face with her free hand, her cheeks turning redder by the second.
"I had to make sure you were... playing for the same team." Jemma laughed. Skye burst out laughing and grabbed Jemma's other hand to remove it from her face.
"So, will you come with me? As my date?" Skye questioned her. Jemma withheld her answer for a few seconds, enjoying the anxious look on Skye's face.
"You promise to dress up?" Jemma asked. She really, really wanted to see Skye in a dress. She already had one of hers picked out for Skye in her head.
"Jemma, you little devil." Skye scolded her, but nodded in agreement.
"I'm going to make you look so pretty." This time it was Jemma's turn to smile mischievously.
"Are you saying I'm not pretty now?" Skye asked sarcastically.
"Oh, no, you're... very attractive." Jemma said, having to take a breath as her eyes wandered Skye's body. "But I'm going to show you off to everyone, so I've got to make sure that some of your assets are... in the spotlight." Jemma planned, laughing at the fresh horror on Skye's face. "Not like that, you dirty mind." Jemma scolded her.
"I'm flattered." Skye said flatly.
"You should be. I have very high standards." Jemma joked.
"Hey Jemma." Skye said, smirking. Uh-oh. What did Skye know that she didn't?
"What?" She asked, her eyes wide. Skye's bottom lip caught between her teeth, which meant either something very bad or very good for Jemma.
"It's eight-thirty." Skye said.
"What?!" Jemma exclaimed, jumping to her feet.
"It's time for dinner. You're late." Skye taunted her.
"You did this to me, you witch!" Jemma accused Skye and ran to untie Sunshine. Skye untied Calypso quickly to catch up, still laughing, but she knew there was no way she was beating Jemma back to the barn when she was running late for something.