Awakening the Heart
Spoilers: All of Season 1 and 2 (up to the mid-season finale)
Disclaimer: I own nothing really...
Skye stood in Vault A practicing her abilities on rocks and dirt when the door opened and Simmons walked down the stairs. Bandit barked and Skye lowered her hands, the rocks and dirt falling back into the buckets they had been in before. Bandit went straight to Simmons, who instantly bent down to pet the dog.
"Hey, what's up?" Skye walked over and sat on the steps, Bandit abandoning Simmons to rest at her mistress' feet.
"Bobbi made a comment that was quite flippant but I started to realize it had merit. I need to speak with you and Ward in the Infirmary, alone."
Skye snorted, "if you're on the train of thought involving Ward and I having a kid, I'd suggest stopping while ahead." Standing the woman patted her leg and Bandit rose to her feet. "We're not having sex." With that she climbed the stairs.
Simmons was right behind her, "currently but considering your emotions and abilities, the likelihood of danger and damage during the future act is perhaps a reason to take caution. Because of this it would be best I speak with you both privately."
At the top of the stairs, Skye turned to look at her friend. "Drop it Simmons, whenever that happens, if it does then it wouldn't be your business anyway."
"Skye I am merely trying to protect us all from the potential earthquake that could occur. I don't think you want a private act creating a public disaster."
Closing her eyes, the hacker pinched the bridge of her nose. "Hence the reason that every time I attempt seduction, Ward retreats or splashes cold water on the mood." She dropped her arm and looked her friend in the eyes. "As I said, we aren't having sex so please drop the subject."
"Oh, I understand now."
"Okay, glad." It was sarcastic and out quickly as Skye left Vault A, Bandit behind her.
While it seemed the matter was settled on base, across the world in Australia were just getting started a day later. In the hotel bar, while waiting on their target, Maya was asking Ward questions that made him, for the first time in his life, crawl under a rock and die. It was impossible to get away from the woman because she was his partner and was facing the direction his back was turned to and vice versa.
"So before we left, Simmons let it slip to Bobbi and she told me that you're turning down sex from Skye?" Maya shook her head, "I knew there was something wrong with you but clearly from what Skye says and May glares at, you know how to act in that area so what the hell is wrong with you?"
Trying to ignore her he looked around, "can we drop this subject?"
"No we're not dropping this subject. You are hot, I'll admit that and I've seen the way you look at Skye and she looks at you so why aren't the two of you going to town every time we're resting or grounded?"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ward looked her square in the eyes. "Drop it Maya, I mean it."
"Oh I get it." Maya smirked and took a sip of her beer. "You know how to act while undercover but you're scared of being yourself, of dropping your masks." Patting his hand she smiled, "it's okay to be afraid Grant, it happens to the best of us. Skye has seen everything you are and she's accepted you as you. I think you'll be okay."
"It's not me I'm worried about." It was with gritted teeth as he avoided her, looking for their target and found him at the bar with two blonds. They were working girls and clearly looking for a good paycheck at the end of the night.
Maya was silent before she nodded, "you're afraid of setting off Skye's abilities. She seems so normal, so human almost all the times so I forget about them when they aren't flashed in my face."
"I never forget, I don't have the luxury." Ward drowned his whiskey and stood. "Skye is Skye but that means the ability of possibly destroying the planet comes with her. I've accepted that but it also means I have to be hyper vigilant when she forgets so she doesn't harm anyone."
A nod was all he got before Maya was out of her chair and over to their target, sidling up beside him as he dismissed the blonds. Ward moved to the bar to get another drink, keeping an eye on the target and Maya.
She fawned over the man and flirted, playing on the idea of being a drunk single woman looking for a good time. The man was clearly not having it and moving away from her, the ability to slip the tracker into his pocket being lost with every second. Ward moved over to the two and put his hands on Maya's shoulders.
"I apologize sir, my sister can't hold her liquor." He pulled out his wallet, "please let me pay for your drink due to the harassment she's caused."
The man waved him off, "just take her home."
Ward nodded and turned to Maya, "come on, before you embarrass yourself more."
"But I was just getting started." She slurred on the last work purposely, stumbling so she fell against their target and smirked. "Oh hi there."
"Please take her home before she causes a scene." The man helped her stand with Ward's help and she took the moment to slip the tracker into the man's pocket.
Pulling her away, Ward steered her to the entrance. "Come on, we'll get you upstairs in time to sleep so you can make that meeting tomorrow."
The hotel room was sound proofed immediately upon their arrival using equipment that Fitzsimmons had developed, with Mack's help of course. Upon reentry they reset the system and instantly were tracking their target.
Ward's phone beeped and he removed it from his pocket to see his non-field phone had a message from Skye. Opening it he sat down on the bed and read the seven words on the screen with a small smile on his face.
A-9, your move. I love you.
He instantly replied to the message while he stood and moved over to where Maya sat tracking their target.
Miss! B-10, your move. I love you too.
"What do you have so far?"
"Well when he used his phone after we left we got the frequency so I'm about the make the call needed so we can hack him with Skye's program. How is she?"
Ward merely shrugged, "she's being Skye, she's also bored."
The woman turned to look at him, "how can you tell that halfway around the world from just a text?"
"She started mental battleship, it means she's bored and everyone else is busy."
"Can't you win at mental battleship, change your ships around in your head?" Maya rolled her eyes, "you'd think you'd win at that one."
Ward chuckled, "obviously you've never been in Skye's bunk. She has a giant battleship grid duct taped to her wall and uses post-its to mark our positions so we can't cheat."
"And I thought you were exaggerating when you said she loved the game." Maya picked up her field phone and dialed a number. "Here we go. Tell your girl she's about to get a lot of data." He sent the text immediately so Skye could get to her computer.
Making the call now. Data incoming momentarily.
Her reply came just as fast, meaning the hacker was in her bunk on her computer with her phone nearby. Bandit was probably laying against her leg sleeping.
Ready. I want to know the scenario you came up with to get the tracker into his pocket. You're telling me all about it when you get home.
Maya was on the phone with the guy pretending to be someone from his credit card company. With Skye's information gathering it made it possible.
What do you want me to bring you this time?
It wasn't as if her previous reply meant she wanted something, he just tried to bring her something back every time he went on a mission. It was anything from food to some type of bobble or trinket. She was restricted to the base due to her still undergoing training for her abilities so he attempted to bring the world to her.
The last request had him sputtering though when she asked him to bring her tampons, chocolate and Midol specifically. With Maya's help he'd managed it, even seeming like a hero in his girlfriend's eyes. So after that request he felt weary asking her, hoping he didn't ask for something similar or anything equally frightening like clothing. Her tastes for clothes varied at times so it was quite amusing seeing her look through her clothing drawers in the morning. Although you won't get him to try to buy her something clothing-wise even with a gun pointed at him
Surprise me. Got to go, data time!
It was finally time for her to shine, enjoy doing something she was good at and loved so he left her alone. Slipping the phone in his pocket, he sat down as Maya hung up.
"We good?"
"Skye is going to be enjoying herself for the next few hours with the data so we can both get some rest.
Maya had a gleam in her eye as she smirked. "What did she ask for this time? Another box of tampons? The look you had on your face while trying to shove the phone at me subtly was so worth it."
"I'm supposed to surprise her this time so I'm going to go out tomorrow to see what I can find. Probably a necklace or something similar."
"The girl doesn't wear jewelry."
Ward only smirked, "you don't see her wear jewelry but she has more than you, Simmons and Morse combined. There's a reason May gave her a jewelry box for her birthday."
"I thought that was a subtle hint to start wearing jewelry."
Looking at the ground, Ward shook his head. "She had this one set of rings she always wore, May said they got lost in a fight with you while trying to retrieve Raina. She refuses to tell me where she got them so I can replace them, something about how I didn't need to spoil her."
"Hate to tell you this but you do spoil her!" Maya stood and headed towards the bathroom. "I'm showering than I'm heading to bed."
Skye sat at the bar in the kitchen going over data while eating a bowl of cereal when a box was place on her keyboard. Looking up she found Ward moving around the bar and counter with her bowl of cereal. Quickly he dumped it and started removing everything needed for chocolate chip pancakes.
"When'd you get back?"
Ward looked up at her as she set the box aside and started typing. "An hour ago. I'm making you breakfast before I head to my bunk to sleep. You should open that, you'll want to."
Picking up the box she turned it over repeatedly. "What's in it?" He just smirked as he continued making her breakfast. "Come on tell me."
"Open it and find out."
She pulled the ribbon from around the blue box and opened it to find a small velvet box inside. "Oh my god!" She dropped the small box on the counter and stared at it. "That better not be what I think it is!"
Ward paused in his actions and looked at her, "Skye we both know it's not that. Our relationship is just out of its own academy, it's going to take years before we graduate to that lifelong mission."
Picking up the small red velvet box she looked at it. "Nice analogy, I was just surprised is all."
"I promise you're going to love it."
Opening it she found a set of three stackable rings almost identical to the ones she lost. Instead of being the stainless steel she'd had before, the ones in front of her were sterling silver. Smiling she pushed her hair back and looked up at him. "They're beautiful."
He moved around the counter and picked the rings up, sliding it on her left ring finger instead of the right where the previous set had once laid. "To replace the ones you lost in the fight."
"What's the metal, stainless steel or some knockoff metal to look like silver?"
Kissing her head he moved back around the counter. "Sterling silver, real deal and no," his eyes met hers, "it wasn't too much so don't start trying to persuade me to take it back."
Her eyes looked down at the rings and ran her right thumb over them. "I'd have to be dead for someone to pry them off of me." Jumping off her chair she moved around the counter and pulled him down into a full-blown kiss. "You're amazing, I love you." Leaning against the counter she smirked. "So tell me all about the scenario you guys used."
"It was all Maya…" He launched into the story while making her breakfast while she stood beside him, entranced between his words and starring at the rings on her finger.
A/N: Anyone what to guess if Ward had another reason for giving her the rings besides replacing the ones she lost?
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