A/N: Coulson and Skye try to work with Simmons' idea... to mixed results.
They fell into a comfortable routine, and still managed to keep their situation mostly under wraps. Usually, Coulson would greet Skye in the hall on his way to work out, give her a long hug, a kiss on the cheek (and sometimes on the lips, though that was more dangerous to do in public areas), and they would go about their day with no problems.
Sometimes, Skye would reach out and brush her hand across his during meetings. He became an expert at finding just the right moment to return the gesture, when no one else was paying attention.
Simmons was still running her tests, and asking them for very non-specific updates as the weeks passed.
Then Skye had started leaving the Playground more, going out with Trip on "Welcome Wagon" missions and trying to find safe locations to meet other SHIELD agents. At the rate she was going, racking up so many field hours, she would reach Level Two in no time, and Coulson was very proud of that. If he had it his way, she'd be at least Level Six already, but he didn't want to give the impression that he was abusing his stance of power. That, and he was pretty sure Skye would get very angry with him if he didn't allow her to work for it herself.
She was kind of wonderful, in that way.
Coulson shook his head to clear his thoughts, and realized that he was standing in the middle of the hall, facing the hangar bay. He frowned slightly, wondering how he had arrived here, when his original destination had been his office.
He picked up on the sound of an engine motoring down, and he couldn't help but take an anticipatory step forward. He clasped his hands in front of him, squeezing his fingers.
He was here because Skye and Trip were just arriving back, and he'd wanted to greet them – hell, he might as well be honest. He wanted to see Skye. The problem with her leaving the building so much was that they couldn't get in as much of their 'monitored affection', and he found himself becoming restless.
A minute later, Trip and Skye rounded the corner, bags slung over their shoulders and harried grins on their faces.
"Well, that one was fun. Wait until I tell AC; he's going to have a cow," Skye was speaking animatedly to Trip, and cut off when she realized Coulson was standing there in the hall. She stopped walking immediately, and her smile widened further. "Hey, AC," She greeted warmly, and Coulson narrowed his eyes toward the bloody cut above her eyebrow, and the slight bruising on her cheek.
"Hello, Sir." Trip greeted, somewhat surprised to find Coulson simply standing there. "Turns out our tip was a hoax. Skye – "
"You should have seen his Captain America collection!" Skye interrupted, and Coulson was momentarily distracted from her wounds. "No cards, unfortunately. I asked."
"That's disappointing." Coulson admitted truthfully, touched that she would have attempted to replace some of his old collection. Trip rolled his eyes, an amused smile on his face.
"Anyway, like I was saying," He said with a pointed look toward Skye, "she had a bit of a run-in with an old Rising Tide buddy." Coulson's expression clouded and he narrowed his eyes again, this time toward Trip. "It was quickly handled, don't worry," Trip quickly continued, "by a misplaced headbutt."
Skye frowned, looking away with embarrassment. Coulson stared at her.
"You headbutted someone?" He asked incredulously, and she shrugged, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. "That's not exactly the most recommended way to defend yourself," Coulson scolded her dryly, and she rolled her eyes at him.
"It worked, didn't it?" She muttered, and Trip chuckled, shaking his head.
"That's about it, sir. I'll write up the full report and get it in to you tomorrow." Trip said, and Coulson nodded. Trip nudged Skye companionably with his shoulder, and then left the two of them alone in the hall. They stared at one another for a moment.
"Come on," Coulson sighed, "Simmons should look at that."
"It's hardly a scratch!" Skye argued, and Coulson raised his eyebrow at her.
"You'll be lucky if it doesn't need stitches." He said, and she huffed, walking with him down the hall.
They had arrived at his office and he was holding the door open for her before he realized the mistake.
"Um, AC?" Skye asked, her own eyebrow raised. "Ow, okay, yeah. That hurts." She commented, dropping the duffel next to the couch and sitting down, touching her fingers gently to her forehead.
Coulson was frowning, confused, but he slowly shut his office door anyway.
"I keep finding myself places I don't mean to be," He admitted to her, and she looked up at him, concerned.
"Have you been doing anything dangerous?" She asked, and he shook his head.
"I just end up in strange rooms." He told her, and moved toward the bathroom in the back corner of the room. He spoke through the open doorway as he hunted through the cabinets, "I've got stuff here, at least. I can patch it up."
"Alright, Doctor AC," Skye said wryly, and he was making a face when he entered the room, supplies in hand.
"You'll need to learn some medical too, you know, for field work. Have you been studying with Simmons?" He asked her, and she sighed.
"Yes, Professor." She grumbled, and he smirked lightly at her.
"Doctor, Professor – what other professions am I going to have by the end of this conversation?" He teased, and she gave him a cheeky look.
"Director, Agent, Babysitter, Commanding Officer," She counted off on her fingers, and he groaned, holding his free hand up in the air.
"Alright, alright, that wasn't a challenge," He complained, amusement in his eyes. "Do you mind sitting on the edge of my desk? I'll be able to see what I'm doing better."
She looked at him carefully as she nodded, standing and moving to his desk. Because no, this wasn't kind of like situations she had dreamed of happening in his office. Not at all. She sat on the edge of the desk and carefully brushed her hair back away from her forehead. When he set the medical supplies on the desk next to her and stepped closer, she reached out and touched a finger to his chest.
"Avenger…" She murmured, and he halted, staring at her.
"You… You heard that?" He asked, and she nodded.
"I didn't mean to. I'd come up to, uh, well," Skye thought better than to bring up that particular subject at the moment, "I'd accidentally hung around with my ear pressed against the closed door." She admitted, and Coulson gave her a wry look. "It made me so happy," She told him seriously, and he smiled softly.
"Me, too." He admitted, and they just smiled at each other for a few moments, until he remembered that she was still bleeding slightly. "Let's get you fixed up," He said, stepping closer to her, rolling his sleeves up.
Skye bit her lip, and closed her eyes.
"How much does it hurt?" He asked, and she shook her head.
"It just stings a little. I just… don't want to distract you if you've gotta stitch me up." She told him.
"Right." He murmured, and paid very close attention to taking care of her wounds. The stitches were minimal, and she only flinched slightly when he'd dabbed the wound with alcohol. When he was finished, he brushed his thumb lightly against her temple, just underneath the wound. "The bruising is going to look nice, by tomorrow." He told her, and she let out a long sigh.
"Guess I shouldn't plan on going out on any dates for the next couple of days, then," She mused, and opened her eyes to see him giving her a serious look. His fingers slid down to her neck, and then across the back as he pressed his palm against her skin.
He stepped closer to the desk, standing just inside the space between her knees, and leaned in to brush his nose against the unharmed side of her face. He nuzzled the sensitive spot just below her ear, and she sucked in a breath, her fingers clenching the lapels of his jacket.
"When was the last time we touched?" He breathed against her skin, and she struggled to answer him.
"Just a couple days ago," She stammered, reaching to unbutton his jacket, sliding her hands against his shirt.
"We used to be able to go weeks," He said against her neck, his nose pressed against the hollow dip between her collarbone and shoulder. Skye let out a little whimper, her fingers grasping at his shirt now, and he quickly lifted his head, urgently pressing his mouth against hers. She pulled at him and he stepped closer, her thighs pressing against his hips. He traced her lip with his tongue, and then his tongue was running across the roof of her mouth, and she was moaning and pulling at him, wanting him closer. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her forward to the very edge of the desk, holding her body against his. One of his hands slid to the back of her knee, and he shifted his hips slightly.
"Coulson!" She gasped out a whisper, her hands in his hair. She tugged a little harder than intended, and it made him clear-headed enough to wrench himself away from her.
"I'm sorry," He gasped heavily, struggling to gather himself, "I'm sorry." He took another step back, more than an arm's length away now, and ran trembling hands across his face.
Skye sat where she was, chest heaving and staring at him with wide eyes. She clenched the edge of his desk with her fingers, craving the solid heat of his body even more.
"Phil," She managed to say, her tone strangled.
"Don't!" He interrupted quickly, looking at her with fright in his eyes. "Don't," he repeated, softer, and she frowned, biting her lip. "Just give me a minute," He said shakily, before she could say anything else. He closed his eyes and took some measured deep breaths. Skye didn't move a muscle, hardly blinking as she watched him. When he finally opened his eyes again, he appeared relatively calmer, which was fine and dandy for him, but she felt like she was about to fall apart.
"Coulson," She said quietly, and his brow furrowed apologetically.
"Skye," He sighed. "I shouldn't have done that." She stared at him hard, then nodded slowly in agreement.
"I need to go," She said, and watched the self-deprecation cross his face. She finally moved, sliding off the desk and reaching out toward him. "Don't do that," She said, stopping herself, pulling her hand back before she could touch him. "Don't blame yourself like this was wrong."
"But Skye, we almost – "
"Like doing it on your desk is a bad thing?" Skye interrupted, running her hands through her hair, using her frustration to calm down all the other emotions raging through her.
He twitched violently.
They were caught in another staring match when there was a knock on the door, and Simmons' voice was calling out,
"Is Skye in there? I heard she was hurt."
Coulson sucked in a breath, and almost looked angry for a moment, before turning and moving toward the door.
"I patched her up," He said without preamble, pulling the door open. Simmons jumped, took in his appearance, and glanced around him to look at Skye.
"Oh." She said. "I trust you did a good job, then." She trailed off, glancing between the two of them. "Shall I walk Skye back to her bunk?" She asked carefully, trying to be respectful.
"Please." Coulson said, and he and Skye both looked relieved. Skye hurried toward her bag and slipped it over her shoulder, sliding passed Coulson before Simmons could say anything else. "Wait," Coulson reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her. Skye looked at him, and they were too close, but Simmons was right there next to them, so he didn't worry too much.
"Not a bad thing." He said darkly, rotating his jaw. "Not a bad thing at all." When he saw Skye's eyes widen, he let go of her arm and disappeared back into his office, shutting the door on both of them. Simmons furrowed her brow.
"What was that about?" She wondered, and Skye sucked in a strangled breath.
"Nothing," She cleared her throat. "Nothing." She stared off into space for a second, and Simmons put her hand on Skye's shoulder, jarring her back into focus.
"Come on, Skye. Let's get you to bed."
A/N.2: It's nice for Skye and Coulson that Simmons is the only one truly aware of what's going on, but I'm starting to feel bad for Simmons. How awkward for her. :/
Usually I read over these about ten times before I post them, but this one only got two or three overviews. I apologize if there are any errors. If you catch something I have missed, don't be afraid to message me about it. I'll fix it right away!
lee-lo the assassin, I'm sure you understand what I mean when I say that this one was really hard for me to write... Oof.