"Why are you afraid to know his personality type?" Sigyn asked in confusion. "If you're in a relationship with him, isn't that something you could already guess at?"

Skye swallowed, nodded, muttered, "Yeah, I can guess – red, maybe, or purple - but probably black."

"Oh? Why would you say that?"

Skye sighed, picking at a loose thread on the couch cushion as she considered whether or not to answer – let alone what answer to give. Finally, she asked without looking at… her stepmother, "You said that black came with lots of regrets, right?"

Sigyn's tone was careful now as she answered, like she realized that whatever Skye might choose to share was going to be a big deal to the girl. "Yes."

"I have a feeling that Ward has a lot of those," Skye revealed quietly. "At least… I kind of hope he does."

"I don't understand; I thought that you love him."

"I guess nobody really understands what I'm thinking," Skye sighed in frustration, saying, "I hardly understand what I'm thinking about him from one second to the next. It's just…" Her head wove back and forth as she considered the words before she said, "Ward came onto Coulson's team lying to us. He was working undercover for the bad guys, though he has obviously decided to join the good guys since then. But… before we started rebuilding SHIELD like this, we found out what he was – and when we did… he did some pretty unforgivable things."

"You mean your doctor friend?" Sigyn asked with gentle hesitancy.

Skye nodded, saying, "You guys tend to say 'friend'. That they're my 'friends' – and they are – but they're more than that. For a kid who grew up in foster homes, they were the first family I ever had – all seven of us felt that way to begin with, I think – and then… Ward turned on his family. Fitzsimmons…" Skye rolled her eyes back in her head, trying to keep tears from escaping her eyelids as she all but whispered, "Fitzsimmons were like siblings to him – that's how they looked at him, regardless of whatever he thought of them – and then he just… tried to kill them. Everybody else's opinion of him seems to have adjusted accordingly, and then there's me over here in my own little corner having fallen for him before all of this happened, and trying not to love him now, but it's not working, and I want it to and it's not, and he's being so nice about this whole Loki-is-my-dad thing, and I really just want to trust him – it just feels so right – but how can I do that to the rest of my family – the good part of my family – and-"

"Skye," Sigyn shifted, placing a gentle hand on the hacker's arm as she rambled on. "Skye, breathe, sweet girl. Skye, listen to me!" Ah, there it was. Skye stopped, taking a deep breath as she slammed her mouth closed and looked at Sigyn expectantly. "I recant of what I said earlier," Sigyn started once she realized that she had her stepdaughter's attention. "I do understand – what you're feeling, I mean. And first and foremost? You're not… wrong for loving your Agent Ward. You're just in love, like anybody else in the realms who is lucky enough to have that other person in their lives. The things he's done… they're not deniable – but they are forgivable, aren't they?"

"Yes," Skye answered quietly.

"Then they're not the definition of him; they're a condition of him – just like another character trait, if you will. Everyone deserves to be given a second chance and to be loved by someone; no one deserves to be alone – especially not if there's someone there willing to love them and be loved by them. Do you think that he loves you – genuinely and honestly? Can you say for certain that despite – in fact, in the middle of – all the lies that he told while on the side of the enemy, his love for you was and is the truth?"

Skye repeated, nibbling on her lip again, "Yes."

"And you do love him in return, even considering the things he's done in the past?"

There was no hesitation this time as Skye repeated, "Yes."

Sigyn gripped Skye's hands, saying with the same gentle firmness in her gaze and tone as was in her voice, "Then don't question it. It honestly wasn't until I got here – an entire three days ago, yes – that I realized my thoughts were exactly what yours are. I was trying too hard to move past someone who was right there – someone who still needed and loved me with the same depth that I love and need him – and it was hurting me as much as it hurt him. Sweet girl, I don't want to see you get hurt… so just let go of those insecurities. Let yourself fall back in love with your Agent Ward; forget what he's done in the past and just… allow yourself to see the future with him that I dare say you desire."

The faint blush on Skye's cheeks was confirmation enough for Sigyn, who smiled as she watched Skye work through this in her head and then murmur, "Alright."

"Promise to stop over thinking it?" Here Skye hesitated, so Sigyn squeezed her hands again and added, "Trust me, Skye; I'm here to help you, however you need me to."

"Okay," Skye relented. "I promise."

"Thank you," Sigyn replied, her smile widening – and the smile only got bigger when Skye leaned into her and wrapped her arms around her in a rather… trusting hug. "I love you, sweet girl," Sigyn dared to venture not at all expecting her stepdaughter to return the sentiment, and telling her so. "But you don't have to say it too; I tend to know when I'm being lied to, and that takes the sweetness out of the gesture."

Skye just sighed with contentment, burrowing further into Sigyn's arms for a minute as she thought this over before she muttered against the other woman's shoulder, "But you're kind of my mom, and I think I might want to love you."

Tears burned in Sigyn's eyes and her grip on Skye tightened as she murmured only, "I would like that very much, sweet girl."