Well here is the end of Episode 8 I hope you like it. I would also like to add that this is my first time writing smut so be kind and let me know if I should up the rating or not. I don't own AOS just my OC's and this plot. And just to let you know the next chapter will be focusing more on people outside the team. Like Kiera and Co... All mistakes made are my own. I try my best but sometimes the errors just slip through the cracks.
There was something wrong with Randolph that much she knew. She stared at him through the video feed and waited for him to do something. Skye was sitting on the couch with her tablet waiting for something to happen. After Grant had told her the story of how his older brother made him throw Tommy into a well. Skye was starting to think that Tommy's family was even more fucked up than hers'. Your parent trying to kill you was one thing. But, your older brother making your other brother throw you down and well and enjoying it was a whole other level.
She knew that there was abuse in Tommy's family and that Christian was the brunt of it. He told her that he would make Grant do all the things to him. He never told her about the well though, actually, the more she about it the more she realized he never went into detail about any of it. She can understand why he wouldn't, why anyone would want to relive that trauma it beyond her.
From what Tommy had told her the family structure was broken down like so: Robert Ward stood at the top. A senator that had severe control issues and probably a drinking problem. He was tall with brown, now greying, hair. While Grant and Rose had inherited their looks from their mother it was clear that Tommy was his fathers' son. The shared the same face structure and blue eyes as each other. The same permanent smile but while Tommy's was warm Robert's always looked cruel. The man radiated power in pictures and seem to be charismatic.
Next was Melody Ward. The True Pants Wearer of the family as Tommy had told her. While his father, Tommy had said, was the face of the family his mother ran it all. She was silent and calculating and took in every threat in a room. Never showed her emotions at any given time unless it was in front of a camera. Dressed to impress constantly in mostly solid bold colors never seen in a pattern. Her black hair was always prim and proper. No known family since she was raised in foster care. Had all her children taught Russian since birth, except Christian, and made sure they would all excel in school. Instead of letting them watch old Disney movies she would make them read instead or learn a new skill. Grant had taken more language classes, Tommy took Physics, and Mellie forced Rose into Ballet. Tommy had also told her that she one hell of a shot with a gun at the range.
Christian, Grant, and Tommy all shared one similar title as The Older Brother. Though all were different too the public they were just known as the three brothers. Christian was cruel, so much like his father, and followed the same career path. Grant, well, was always made out to be the troublemaker even though he was the farthest thing from it. If anything, he was too loyal to a fault which wasn't always a good thing. Tommy was the true troublemaker. The impulsiveness and reckless attitude that he always had were exhausting. Skye's was honestly surprised when she learned that his parents didn't try putting him on medication right away.
Rose was the last in the family. The baby sister and the little girl who could do no wrong. Always in the background in every picture never truly in the limelight. Had the perfect outfits, great grades, and never was once involved in a scandal. What Tommy had told her was that she knew when to keep quiet. He told her that he and Grant would always protect her from Christian to make sure that he never hurt her. Once he had left the house Tommy had breathed a little easier. She was short in height, black hair, brown eyes, so much like her mother. Except she was kind, she was nice and truly cared about people, Tommy said it was because she always looked up to Captain America as a kid. And into adulthood. Skye only semi remembered the young girl running around as Captain America for Halloween. Although she shouldn't say, a young girl because Rose was only one year younger than herself.
Skye sighed. The whole family was just one big mess.
After Grant had told her the story he stared at her like she was going to accuse him of lying. Instead, she hugged him, which surprised him, and told him that she believed him. Because if anyone was going to believe crazy family abuse it was her. After she told him that he squeezed her tighter and tried not to let her go.
A tap on her shoulder brought her out of her zone. She dropped the tablet and turned around ready to scream at whoever startled her. Instead, she turned around to see that it Coulson with an expression that read 'Got You' all over it. She didn't know why he thought that he had caught her doing something bad, all cameras were free to hack.
"What's up AC?" She asked innocently. Turning off the tablet and placing it on the couch.
Coulson raised his eyebrow at her, "He's requesting to see, and I quote, 'The woman who knocked me out' any reason that would be?"
She shrugged her shoulders but on the inside, a bubble of nervousness started building. He didn't think that she was her mother, did he? Because if that was so then she was screwed beyond belief. Her secret wouldn't be secret for long and she could kiss freedom goodbye. She would have to start saying hello to a cell and the Index.
"Do you want me to talk to him?"
"I don't think he's going to talk if you don't."
Taking a deep calming breath Skye stood and plastered on a fake smile. "Let's go."
The walk to the interrogation was terrible and she felt like running. It wasn't even fear that was getting her it was her nerves. Her anxiety that this was all about to go to shit. She also didn't want to hear about what her mother was like when she was kind and actually normal. People trying to convince her that she was a good person. Keyword was. Skye's sure that her mother did a lot of good things in the past but that doesn't make up for what she's doing now. Now she was no longer kind, she didn't care about her people, not ever her own daughter. All she cared about was herself and her power.
They arrived at the door and Coulson knocked on the door three times. He then opened it and the moment her eyes met Randolph's she knew that he knew about her. Even if he didn't know about her existence he knew that she was her daughter. Like everyone had always said, she was her mother's daughter in looks. Although not identical it was too similar to be anything else. IT was also it the way she carried herself, but most of all it was the eyes. The same doe-brown eyes that came from her mother.
Randolph's eyes widen and he opened his mouth slightly in shock. He looked like he wanted to say something but was in too much shock to even say something. Skye pushed the bubble of nervousness down and walked over to the chair opposite of him. It was funny that she was on the other side of the table a couple months ago.
They waited in silence for moments just staring at each other. Breaking first Skye cleared her throat ready to say something. He beat her to it just as she was opening her mouth to say something, "I'm sorry for staring but has anyone ever told you, you have old eyes."
"Why did you want to talk to me?" She asked trying to change subject course.
Randolph smiled, "You reminded me of someone I once knew."
Moving her head slightly Skye could feel the heartbeats of everyone behind the glass. It was Coulson, May, and Ward. Great, the three people that she didn't need listening to any of this. Skye frowned and formed a fist under the table, "Well, sorry to disappoint you but I'm not her, whoever she was."
"Of course, you aren't." Randolph insisted, "But the resemblance is uncanny."
"Are you going to talk about the staff or not. If not then I'm going to leave." She then made the motion to stand up but he was able to stop her with his words. It had been so long since someone could stop with just a few simple words. That made her stand with shock, anger, resentment, longing.
"You're just like her you know." He said casually smiling softly and Skye sat back down slowly listening to him. No one had said that to her before, not even her father who had always said she was more like him. "I've never met you before but I can see her shine through. The posture, the looks, the way you speak, it's all her."
Clenching her jaw Skye glared at him, "Like I said before I'm not whoever you might think I am." She said in a low voice.
"Of course not." He said sadly. "But when I first saw you it was like seeing my old friend again one more time."
Annoyed by where the topic was heading Skye changed it, "If your friend where here would you tell her where the rest of the staff was?" She asked.
"No." His heartbeat skipped.
"You're lying." She said simply, "I know you know, so just tell me."
"I'll tell you the truth when you tell me the truth." He stated then leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
Biting her lip and clenching her fist Skye took a leap. This was her day of honesty and truth telling might as well go big or go home. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said simply and started smiling, "But let me tell you something that I am sure of. I am going to make sure that I get what I want. No one is going to stop me from getting it. I don't care how many people I have to hurt, maim, or even kill to get it." She then leaned in slightly, "And what I want…is that staff."
Randolph smirked looking down at her clenching fist, "my friend had many talents. I wonder, what other talents you might have."
"Many." She said deadpanned, "Now where's the staff before I start shooting you."
He was about to speak but the door opened and there was Ward with Coulson. "Skye out. Ward, your turn to take a stab at him." Ward nodded his head and Skye stood up to join Coulson.
He closed the door and turned towards her. "What was that about?" he asked.
"I guess I reminded him of someone. Poor guy, can't think of too many people who would want a friend like me" She said jokingly.
"Skye this isn't a joke." He said. Then he took a deep breath and Skye could see his true leak through, "You told me that that's your past won't affect your time with us. It wouldn't affect this team."
"It won't." Skye said, "Besides I was only trying to play to his emotions Coulson." She wasn't technically lying to him. Her mother did think that she was dead. Hopefully.
"Skye…about what you said, about getting what you want, is that true?"
Skye looked at Coulson up and down then frowned, "I told you Coulson." She said, "I'm not a good person."
There was a crash and the sound of metal dropping. Skye crinkled her eyebrow and opened up the door to see that Randolph hadn't gotten out of his cuffs. He was also holding a knife in his hand, which was bent, and let it drop to the table.
"You were right." Ward said with a bitch face looking at the smiling professor, "He's Asgardian."
"Shit." Skye said clearly and all eyes turned towards her. Randolph then waved at her and winked. This day was just getting worse and worse.
"Fitz." Simmons called out to her partner. He had been in the lab more the past couple of weeks. She noticed, of course, she noticed, she always noticed when he changed something. Ever since he had come back from his mission with Ward something had changed. He told her the basics of everything but he was hiding something from. He was always a terrible liar with her. Then everything with Skye today made her even more concerned. Which lead her to where she was now.
About to confront him. If he would only take out those stupid headphones and put down the screwdriver. "Fitz!" She yelled this time. He jumped and took out his headphones turning around from his seat on the workbench. He had dropped whatever he was working on and put his hands in his lap.
"Yeah, what's up Simmons?" He asked.
"What's up?" She asked incredulously, "Fitz you've been acting completely different for the past couple of weeks. You won't tell what's wrong and you always tell me what's wrong. Instead, you're going to Skye."
Simmons wasn't going to lie. She was a little jealous of how much time Skye was spending with Fitz. For so long it had been just them and nobody else. The more times they spent on this team the more he was pulling away from him and she hated it. She liked Skye and thought that it was nothing more than Fitz getting more friends. But, he always came to her with his problems. He always came to her when he wanted to watch movies and do science with.
It was odd having someone else come in and disrupt the dynamic. He was the one person that she had always turned to no matter what had happened. The one person in her life that she could count on to never leave her. Seeing go to someone else just made her heart constrict a little bit.
"Jemma." He said her name softly and she almost shuttered. She always loved how he said her name. He stood and walked over to her grabbing her hands. He enclosed his hands around hers and she looked him in the eyes. Her heart started fluttering and she thought for a moment she was weightless, "The world is…expanding." He said trying to find the right words.
"And you and I are stuck in a bubble in this expanding world." He said, "Skye she…she's seen the edge of the expanding world, been over it a few times I think."
"I'm not understanding?" Jemma said confused by what Fitz was saying.
Fitz sighed, "We used to think that Earth was a big planet full of impossible things." She saw him gulp, "Turns out we were wrong. It's small. Very small and it's full of possible things." He said. "And that's not bad!" He said quickly, "Not bad at all. In fact, it's what we signed up for but…" he trailed off, "but sometimes it's just…sometimes it's better to leave things as impossibilities rather than solve them." He said. She could tell that he wasn't satisfied with the wording but he looked like utterly confused as to what to say next.
She still wasn't understanding what he was saying but she knew it had to do with Skye. Jemma knew that there was something that she was missing. A puzzle piece that would fit all of the confusion together. But Fitz's words just confused her more. The world was smaller than we thought. What the bloody hell did that mean?
"Fitz whatever it is, whatever bothering you, you can tell me." She told him honestly. Shaking their hands together.
Fitz looked at her, and for a brief moment, she thought he gazed at her lips, but turned back to her eyes. He sighed and took his hands from hers, "Simmons…" He trailed off again. He looked likes he wanted to say something but he stopped himself from doing so. He shook his head then left the lab whatever he was working left abandoned at the station.
Her inner scientist took over and she quickly walked over to his station. She tilted her head to the side and tried to decipher what he was trying to build. It looked like a holster of some sort but it wasn't for a gun or something like that. Instead, it was long in shape and came to a point in the end almost taking the shape of a long knife. Raising her eyebrow, she tried to figure out why Fitz would be making something like this.
There was something different about him, in the way he looked at things now, Simmons noticed. The look in his eyes told her that he seemed lost and she hated seeing him look that way. She just wanted to help him in whatever way that she could because that's what partners do. They help each other out. If they don't help each other out.
Then where does that leave them?
Reading the map, Tommy realized, was a lot harder than they thought. It came with so many problems that he was half tempted just rip the thing to shreds and wing it with finding the last pieces. It was Julian that had stopped him doing it and by stopping he meant ripping the map from his hands and putting it in his backpack.
"This would easier if we could just talk to the guy." Tommy said as he took another right. At this point, they were just traveling in circles.
"And risk dying…Yeah, I don't think so. Besides, there has to something on the map that can help us out." Julian quipped back while hitting his backpack again.
Groaning in frustration Tommy pulled into the nearest fast food lot and put the car into park. He then looked over to Julian who looked just as defeated as him. This wasn't going as planned, if they wanted to beat SHIELD then they needed to be better then SHIELD. Considering they had some of the best hackers and trackers on hand their odds of losing are high.
"Julian, we need a new game plan." Tommy said.
"Obviously." Julian said, "But, Tommy, reading this map is damn near impossible. Going to SHIELD is out of the question. The only other thing that I can think of is asking the stupid people that are going after it in the first place."
Tommy was about to argue actually doing it but Julian gave him a look that told him no. Bringing a hand to his face Tommy ran it down his face. There was something that they could do. They had to do something. They were not this incompetent that they couldn't even figure this out. He was an ex F.B.I agent for goodness sakes, this shouldn't be hard for him!
This would be easier if he could just contact Skye but he had a feeling that leaving her alone was a good idea right now. She would be able to hack the information that they needed and then some. What they needed right now was either someone who could read Old Norse. Or someone with IT abilities and hopefully good judgment. They didn't have any so they were stuck with just themselves. Which shouldn't be bad but considering how long it had been for them since the field. It might not have been the best idea to rush into this. That's when he got an idea. They didn't have to join the paganist but they could at least take out some of them. He knew for a fact that somewhere still in Spain and fighting them shouldn't have been that hard.
"What if instead of asking the Paganist we gently persuade and few to talk?" Tommy suggested.
"Depends." Julian said as if he was entertaining the idea, "By gentle persuasion do you mean talking to them or punching them?"
"Punching them obviously." He said like it was the most obvious thing ever, "No one high on Asgardian Rage Juice would ever listen to us."
Julian made a motion with his arm as if telling Tommy to go, "Good point, let's go. I have another shift at five."
Tommy cringed. He didn't want to think about that trip back. He practically had to puke every time he entered that dirty place. Tommy had seen plenty of dirty places in his lifetime but that place really took the number one spot.
Putting the car in reverse Tommy backed up and soon they were on the road again. They were both silent but for different reasons. Tommy was coming up with a plan on how to the information from the others while Julian was thinking about missing this.
He missed being able to go out on a mission. To do good in the world and see new places. He wanted to go home more than anything but he couldn't stand a liar for a Queen. He was putting up with Tommy because he was a means to the end. That may be, after all the bad he's done, he could do some good in the world. He could make up for everything that he did. Maybe the all the Means did justify the End. The more time that Julian spent with him the most he was realizing that Tommy didn't understand the damage he had done all those years ago. He didn't just kill the princess that was beloved by most. He also pissed the rebels because they had planned on overthrowing the thrown and using Daisy as a replacement. He took away the life and jobs of a lot of people.
When people had gotten the news that he had died. Julian was pretty sure that there was a party that lasted a straight week. Which wasn't hard to understand why but still, he was friends with some of those people. He was under the influence of a very manipulative person. He had to do something that none of them could probably do. He had to stand up to Jiaying.
Thomas Ward as a lot of things in the world but a coward was not one of them. He reckless, selfish, impulse damnit. But, he tried his best to do the right thing for his friends. For that Julian gave him credit because he would do anything for his family.
Noticing that Tommy was slowing down again Julian looked out the window to see their location. It wasn't hard finding out where the paganist where hiding. They didn't exactly hide it. It had taken them only twenty minutes to find the hideout or base. Which was an abandoned building because of course, they were unoriginal.
"This is it?" Julian asked unimpressed.
"Yep." Tommy said quickly the unbuckled his seat built. "Now come on I want to make this quick."
Quickly following the younger man Julian took off his seatbelt and grabbed his gun. They both walked up to the door each taking a side. Tommy counted till three and the both of them busted open the door to the shock of many people.
Tommy took his gun and fired a shot into the air, "Alright!" He yelled and Julian pointed his gun at some of the more threatening looking people. "Listen up Motherfuckers!" He said to them pointing his gun at the crowd, "We're all gonna have a little chat."
"Wait." Skye said holding up her hands trying to understand what she just heard was correct. "This whole thing was made up because he was…horny for some French girl?"
"Yeah." Coulson said nodding his head with a look of shame. She was guessing that he was ashamed for the Asgardian in the other room. He hadn't left the room since his time on the plane and he seemed to be getting on everyone's nerves. Those were Asgardians for ya, annoyed everyone even if you hadn't interacted with them yet.
Letting out a long sigh she looked at the people around her, "Well?" She asked waving her hand in the air, "What else did he say?"
"Then he said he hid the staff because he didn't want it falling into the wrong hands. That why he hid it then he said to let it be because the paganist will eventually die down."
"Did you tell him that they have one part of the staff while we have to the other?" Skye asked.
"We did." Coulson said.
"He didn't care about that either." Ward interrupted him. "After Coulson had threatened him he told us that the last piece is in a church in Ireland."
"Great." Skye said, "Just great. Just what we need, another church to go and probably destroy."
There was silence in the room. Skye could feel her anger and frustration spike at the situation that was in front of her. She grabbed the end of the table leaning onto her hands and grimaced trying to control her heart rate. She closed her eyes and tried taking a few deep breathes. This is not how she wanted this day to end. This was not how she wanted any of this to go but it seemed that no matter how many times she tried to intervene. Fate was going to have its way. "Is there anything else that we should know?" Skye asked, her eyes still shut.
"No." May had answered, "That was all he said. If we're in luck then maybe we can beat the Paganists to the church."
Skye chuckled, "Yeah, luckily."
The room was silent and things were beginning to tune out again. The piece of the staff that was aboard the plane was affecting her. She could feel the rage pulsating and the more she denied the more it called to her. It was almost like it wanted her to pick it up and tear the world apart. She gripped the table harder and swore that she could almost hear it crack. There was the sound of shuffling and she knew that the rest of the team was leaving the room. Once the sound was gone she took another breath and tried to control the anger that was threatening to boil over.
"What's wrong?" She heard Ward ask.
Skye opened her eyes panting and turned her head towards him. He was standing there leaning against the doorway watching her. She had to make the anger go away so how to make herself distracted. Determined Skye let go of the table and power walked over to Grant grabbing him forcefully by the wrist. She dragged him across the living room and practically threw him into her room although there was very little resistance on his end.
He fell down onto her bed and shut her door. Barely giving him any time to react she climbed on top of him and kissed him. Hard. So hard that she was pretty sure she just bruised both their lips. Grant sat up instantly pulled her body closer to his. His hand wandering all over her back one of them slipping underneath her shirt.
The more she kissed him the more the feeling of anger washed away. It left her body and was replaced with another feeling. Something much better than anger, a feeling that was taking her breath away. She sat up more so that she was a couple of inches higher than Grant. She pulled back and both of them opened their eyes looking at each other.
Skye was panting and took one of her hands running through her hair. It all landed on one side and she just stayed like that staring at Grant. Both were breathing heavily and she took her other hand and cupped his cheek with it. She ran her thumb over his lips and the feeling that left her breathless took over her again. She leaned down and their lips collided once again.
This was slower than when she had kissed him last. Instead of the anger and rage fueling the heat in the room it was passion. She reached down and unbuttoned her top like she had down so just a little less than an hour ago. When her she let her top fall from her shoulders and onto the bed she pressed herself against him more. Thinking that he was wearing too many clothes Skye tugged on the bottom of his shirt and seconds later it was discarded.
He then flipped them over and Skye had to keep herself from letting out a noise. He kissed her lips once more before moving to her jaw. Then it was her neck and he slowly made his way down until he was again at her clavicle. His one hand was down around her waist while the other was tracing the scar right below her breast. She shivered as his thumb traced it and as his mouth moved on from her clavicle down to the valley of her breasts.
Skye was trying her best to keep herself from moaning but his mouth kissing down her rib cage was not helping. His hand didn't slip underneath her bra this time instead he just kneaded it while he placed wet kisses around her bellybutton. Wanting his lips on her again she grabbed him by his hair and sat up pulling him up with her. He got the message and he kissed her lips again and this time she did let out a little breathy moan.
The fluttering feeling that was in her stomach was starting to quickly turn into something else. Something that was boiling in her stomach and it was starting to get hotter with each kiss he gave her. Grant, then all the sudden, pulled away from her. She almost took used her arms that were wrapped around his neck to pull him back down.
"Not that I'm enjoying this." He said like it physically pained him to stop himself, "But, what's wrong. I saw the way you looked in there. Something's bothering you."
"Yeah, something is bothering me, it's the fact that you stopped kissing me and we still have clothes on."
He smirked a little bit but she didn't miss the way his eyes darkened. "Skye." He said her name again, "What's wrong?"
"It doesn't matter." She insisted and trailed a hand down his chest, "Now if you're done talking you might actually get to see me naked."
He chuckled and leaned in. She thought that he was going to kiss her but instead he went over to her ear, "As much I would love to see you with all your clothes off right now." He whispered, "We can't. Not with everyone still one the Bus. Because when we have sex I intend on making you scream out my name as you cum over and over again." He then kissed her under the ear and Skye gulped.
Well, if that didn't make her even more hot and bothered she doesn't know what will.
He pulled away from her and sat up grabbing his shirt from the floor. She looked at him while he was putting his shirt back on. He grabbed for his shoes when she finally felt what he was feeling. The rage from the staff was still there but something else was overtaking it. Something that was being projected towards her directly. It was strong, that much she could tell, and it only grew every time that he looked at her. It was a feeling that she only saw in other people.
Shocked by the revelation she leaned over to him and grabbed his jaw forcing him to look at her. She brushed a piece of hair that had fallen into his face back. She licked her lips and searched his eyes to see if she could find something. She could see in his eyes that he enjoyed being with her and not just because she wanted to have sex with him. He enjoyed being in her company and talking to her he just being with her, "Be careful, Grant." She said and kissed him lightly, "I would hate to see you die. I've come to care for you too much."
He smirked and rested his forehead against hers, "Poor me."
"I mean it. I know you think you might be fine but it won't take much to trigger that rage."
"Skye." He said slowly, "I'll be fine out there. It's not like this will last forever."
She looked at him and nodded her head, "Okay." She said giving in. "If you think you'll be okay then I believe you."
It was true. She did believe him. She just hoped that he believed himself too.
"Are these people fucking mermaids?" Julian questioned as they ran down the roads to get to the church. "It took us forever just to find the one piece and we had the actual map. They've hopped, like, three countries in the span of a couple of hours."
"Take a right!" Tommy yelled and both men sprinted towards the right. They sprinted along the as best as they could with all the weight they had carried.
After the fight in the warehouse, which had lasted a bit longer than planned. The two men had gotten the information that they wanted. The last piece to where the staff was being hidden. Which ended up being in a church in Ireland. Tommy was mad because he would have to shadow travel there and they would be able to take the car. Which meant that they would have to go at it on foot, meaning they were probably going to be the last people to the party.
Tommy never liked being the last person to the party. He was always one of the first people at a party or the host himself. Being late to party meant that you didn't care or you really didn't want to be there in the first place. Being early to a party meant that you wanted to be there and you could make conversation with the host and kiss up to them hoping they would give you the good stuff.
Although this wasn't an actual party. It was battle between Paganists, SHIELD, an Asgardian, and two Inhumans over a staff that made you angry. This was shaping up to be one of the weirdest days of the year so far. That was counting the time he had to go to the Maple festival in Canada because a client wanted him to steal the secret recipe.
"Left!" He shouted and he and Julian took the left sprinting down the final street. They could both see the church in sight and he had to give it to the Catholics. They knew how to build one hell of a church. What he wasn't so happy about was the cars parked outside the doors telling him that SHIELD was already here and he was assuming that the Paganist also where as well.
As they got closer to the church they heard grunting and the familiar sound of fighting. Looking over to Julian both men nodded and grabbed their guns from their places around their pants. They stood on the side of the door for a few seconds before a scream and a crash was heard. To him that was the signal that they needed to intervene and Tommy kicked opened the door his gun held high. Julian was next to him in the same exact position.
Although the sight in front of him almost made him lower his gun.
To the back, he could see his brother on the ground in pain next to an older looking Asian woman. He wanted to run to Grant immediately but he had to remind himself that his brother hadn't seen him in over fifteen years. He probably wouldn't even recognize him at this point in time. What was happening in the middle of the room was what made him almost drop his gun completely.
Skye was standing there hovering over a woman and she was ready to kill the girl. The girl was cowering and looked utterly defeated and Tommy guessed that Skye had done a number of her. He heard an intake of breath and he looked beside him to see that Julian was starting to realize that Skye, Daisy, was the girl. That she was still alive.
He saw Skye raise the staff and as it glowed a brilliant blue he knew that she was about to kill the girl. It was the look in her eyes that gave it away. The rage and anger in his chest that he knew was coming from Skye was telling him everything that he needed to know.
On instinct, he used his powers and propelled her backward. He watched her fly to the opposite end of the wall. She looked to him in shock but then the shock quickly turned to rage. She slammed the ground and recovered quickly twirling the staff around expertly in her hands. Tommy put his gun away and walked to the middle of the room ready for Skye to make her move. He had a feeling that she needed to get this out of her system.
She let out a cry and ran towards him the staff raised. He was able to quickly dodge her attack but she twirled the staff around and hit the back of his leg. The action caused him to fall to the ground and he glared at his friend but he told himself he would not fight her back. She walked around him and was about to hit him in the face with the staff when he stopped it with hand.
Then his world went black for a second. Next, he felt anger and rage that he had almost never felt before in his lifetime. He saw himself almost drowning in the well while Christian laughed and Grant looked on helplessly. He saw himself trying to kill Skye with his dagger. He saw his sister looking so sad when she realized that he was not going to come home. He the face of Henley right before she had left when they had a huge fight.
All the times that he had ever felt so much anger was coming back up. His vision finally returned and he shared the same look as Skye. Only he still wasn't going to fight her. Because even though many people had caused him so much pain. He was the biggest contributor to all the pain. If only he had stood up to Christian more. If only he had stopped himself from trying to kill Skye. If he had stopped himself from doing something so stupid. He was the one that caused himself all the pain in his life.
"Stop!" He yelled and threw the staff to the side of the room. He could hear it skid across the wooden flooring. She looked down at him and he saw her face change from anger to shock then confusion. "It's okay, Skye." He said getting up and moving closer to her, "It's just in your head." He said but his voice shook a little bit.
She lowered the staff only slightly, "What are you doing here?" She asked. Then she looked over to Julian, "Jules?" She said amazed that he was probably here.
"Hey." He greeted her, "It's nice to see you alive again." His gun was still trained on her.
She looked between the two of them. "I…" She started to say but got choked up, "I didn't want anyone to get hurt."
"I know you didn't." Tommy said softly while putting his hand on her shoulder. He tried comforting her by rubbing her shoulder slightly but she was starting to see that damage that she had done. He knew that his friend was entering her bad place and he was trying his best to pull her out of it. "I know that you're feeling a lot right now, Skye. But I need you to hold on for a little longer."
He was able to get closer to her. The closer he got to her the limper her arm got, "Come on my friend." He said to her in German, "You have to hold on."
She looked down at the broken body of the young girl that she was about to kill and dropped the staff instantly. She brought her hand up to her mouth and let out a dry sob. Tommy closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her trying to calm her down. She had buried her head into his shoulder and started to cry. He rubbed her back and kept telling her that it was alright, that it was fine, that it wasn't her fault. But he had a feeling that his friend was not believing a signal word of it.
"I saw him." She mumbled into his shirt, "I saw him, Tommy. I saw Lucifer and I just couldn't control myself. It was like I wanted to kill him all over again. Like everything in my path was him and I had to rid the world of him."
"He's dead Skye you know that."
"I know." She said quietly. "But he's still in here." She said motioning to her head.
He looked around the room and saw that her team was starting to get their bearings back. They were looking at them with an odd expression and Tommy hated the way their eyes were on him. Hated the feeling of their gazes he just couldn't help but wonder what the hell had happened.
It had started off with a bang. Well, actually, more like a stab. They had been too late and the paganist had beaten them to the church. The had two full parts of the staff and they used those two parts to stab Randolph in the chest with it. From then on it was chaos and a game of hot potato with the staff. While Coulson and FitzSimmons had taken the Asgardian to try and help him Skye, May, and Ward all stayed behind to fight.
They had managed to grab the piece that had been carrying and the finally had the full completed staff. Skye couldn't really tell you what happened because to get it was all just a blur of fighting different people. Her attention was only shifted when she saw the Grant had taken control of the staff and she could tell that he was struggling with it. She could tell that fighting with it was foreign to him. That having extra strength was throwing him off.
Somehow one of the Paganists, a man, had knocked Ward back and took the staff from him. He then proceeded to battle with May. Skye had turned to the woman she was fighting and kicked her shins with some extra force. She fell to the ground screaming in pain and Skye took the chance to use her powers to break some of the bones in the girl's arms. Just to make sure that the girl didn't get any idea's about picking up the staff.
Then she heard the sound of skidding again. Skye turned around and saw that the staff had been thrown to the corner. She looked at it and started breathing heavily. It was still calling to her, the rage and anger, it was stronger than ever before. She could see that Ward was starting to crawl for it again hoping to gain some control back. As she looked to May she could see that the woman was planning on picking it up. She wouldn't allow her though. This was the one time that Skye was going to pity Melinda May and spare her some pain. Running to the staff at full she didn't even think twice before she picked it up.
Skye was holding the staff, she could've let May hold it but she didn't want her to go through that so now here she is holding the staff and it was glowing blue like it had never glow before. The thing was though she didn't feel anything really that new, no memories came up, and it was like she had complete control over the thing. Her powers though had another story they wanted to be let out, the itch that needed to scratch had come back with a vengeance and she needed to do something about it. Skye looked down at the staff and instead of seeing it glow red she saw it glow blue, which was when she made up her mind, fuck these people she's going to show these humans what they shouldn't take for granted.
She looked around the room and she felt like she was with Lucifer again. Seeing everything from his perspective again. The world was a cruel place and the only way to survive it was to be just as cruel. She could feel him now, leaning over her shoulder and whispering in her ear what to do. His voice was just barely there but she could feel his breath up against her ear. The anger and rage she felt whenever he told her to just let all control go was back. And she wanted nothing more than to just destroy the world and make it feel her wraith.
She took the staff swirling it around a bit to get a good feel for it and then she made her way over to the first person. The girl was in the middle of the aisles and she had a look of surprise on her face before masking it with rage charging her, her fist held up by her face looking ready for a fight. Skye was able to dodge it easily and when the girl came back around it try and hit her again Skye took the staff slamming it into the girl's stomach sending her flying back against the wall.
She could feel every heartbeat in the room and there was someone else running up behind her trying and failing to get the jump on her. She turned around catching his wrist before he could hit her and she put a little pressure on it and sent her powers through his body and she could feel so many bones breaking underneath her touch. The man, boy really, kneeled and let out a cry of pain and she smiled leaning towards him whispering in his ear, "Do you know what the best thing about being in control is," she put a little more pressure on his wrist, "No? I'll tell you, it's when you're able to lose control and still come out on top." She finished her sentence by snapping his wrist, breaking it. She swore that her voice had changed into Lucifer's whenever she said that.
She looked down at the boy and knew that there was one more person that she had to deal with and this girl looked pissed. Skye dropped the staff because she wanted to show everybody there that she could win this fight without any extra help and she wanted people to remember it. The girl came to her and knew how to fight a little more than the last one, her hands were at least in the right position, and she didn't let out a cry of rage.
Skye blocked all of the punches the girl had thrown at her and then that's when it hit her, the feeling of rage. It was not aimed at the others, not towards her mother, not towards her father, no, the blame was aimed towards herself and it that moment she felt like she was fighting herself, and that's how she knew how to end this all. Skye lifted her leg and kicked the other girl into the stomach letting her fly back breaking all the pews in her way and she saw the girl lying there looking beat.
The room had turned quiet and Skye made her way over slowly to the girl lying on the ground bleeding from different places. She crouched beside the girl and put her hand under her chin lifting it up making sure that the girl's eyes were on hers, "You're human," she whispered to her, "not gods you should cherish that." She finished and slammed the girls head into the ground making sure that she would stay down and stand walking back over to where the staff lay and picking back up staring at it in fascination.
There was another hit to her arm and Skye turned around to see the girl who she battled earlier was back up again. She had broken the girl's wrist so Skye didn't understand what she was planning on accomplishing. She smirked and hit the girl lightly with the staff causing her to crash down into some of the pews. As she walked over to her she noticed that the girl had a look of pure terror on her face and Skye enjoyed it. She enjoyed the look of terror.
Then she was weightless being flown back onto the other side of the room. She was able to recover quickly. She met the man in the middle and fought him but when she was fighting him she felt wrong. Like she was supposed to be doing this but Lucifer whispering in her ear telling her to go is what kept her going. Then he grabbed the staff as well and he shouted at her.
A familiar shout that she had heard so many times before. A voice that was pulling her back to reality. She felt the staff leave her hands and with-it Lucifer was gone as well. No longer whispering in her ear. She looked down at the man only to see that it was Tommy who she had been fighting the entire time. Tommy who she wanted to hurt so badly and Skye thought she was going to be sick.
Looking around her she noticed the damaged that she caused. She knew that Tommy was talking to her and she responded but she honestly felt like she was on autopilot. It wasn't until she let her friend go that truly felt like she was in control of herself again. That she could understand what was happening. She looked to Tommy. He had somehow talked her off a ledge again and it this moment she forgave him.
"You shouldn't be here." She finally said then turned her gaze to Julian, "Both of you. You both need to leave."
"We came here for the staff." Julian said, "We came to get rid of it. It's not safe. Not even in SHIELD's custody."
She looked at the both of them and didn't know what to say. She had no words to tell them because she knew that they were both right. Something like this didn't belong in SHIELD, it didn't even belong on Earth.
"Who are you two?" She heard May ask. Skye turned around and saw the woman stare at them suspiciously.
Tommy cleared his throat, "I'm only here to help out." He said, "My associate and I just want to get rid of the staff."
"We can take care of that." May said crossing her arms over her chest.
"Can you?" Tommy question. Skye looked up to see that others were watching them closely. Even the Professor who she thought was dead.
Skye then turned around and saw that Grant was starting to move and get up. Turning back to her friend she put a hand on his chest, "Just go." She told him and pushed him lightly. He looked at her worriedly. "I'll handle it. Trust me, but considering that you two aren't even supposed to exist, you need to go."
Letting out a huff Tommy turned towards Julian who nodded his head letting her now that she was right. She looked at Tommy and gave him a look and she hoped that he could tell what she was thinking/feeling through the bond. Come for the staff later, she thought, your cover is more important than the stupid thing.
He nodded his head and looked towards the others. His gaze caught on Fitz and he smiled slightly then winked at him. The next thing she knew Tommy and Julian were off to lord know where to do God knows what.
She took a deep breath trying to calm herself then walked over to Grant who had just managed to get to his feet. She helped him stand when he started to wavering and he didn't even try to resist. He fully leaned into her grateful for the help. Together, the both of them limped over to where Coulson and others were.
He smiled at them, "How about a night off?" He asked them, "I'll book us rooms at the nearest hotel."
Skye smiled and she heard Grant chuckle from beside her. That was something that she could live with.
Coulson found Elliot sitting on a bench across from the parking lot observing something in front of him. he looked over to see that Elliot was looking at his team. Or one team member to be specific. Coulson's eyes narrowed as he caught the Asgardian smiling fondly as Skye lugged to big duffle bags in her arms. Coulson sometimes wondered how strong she actually was.
Sitting down next to the man Coulson smiled warmly, "Ready to go home?" He said.
"She's just like her mother." Elliot said which caused Coulson to be confused at who he was talking about, "Although, I guess, in some ways, they couldn't be any more different."
"Who are you talking about?" he asked.
"Skye." He said simply, "Although I waver a guess that is not her given name."
"You know Skye's mother." Coulson asked his eyes widening.
Smiling softly, he continued looking at the space in which she had occupied, "Oh, yes, I had taught her some time ago. She had a certain knack for history as you could say. I even considered her a good friend at one point." He then chuckled to himself like he had just made the best joke in the whole world. "But, sadly she never followed a career in history opting for becoming a healer or sorts instead." His smile turned into a frown, "It was such a shame. She had such talent and knowledge."
"You speak of her like she's dead." Coulson observed
"No, but from what I've heard it may not be too off."
"What do you mean."
"Time," Elliot paused and took a deep sigh, "time was not her friend. Some of us don't become wiser the longer we live. Just bigger fools." He smiled again when he saw Skye come out of the hotel Ward not too far behind her. "But Skye," He said wistfully with a large smile on his face, "She's going to do great things. I just hope when the time comes that she realizes how strong she really is."
"What are you talking about." Coulson asked.
Slapping his knees Elliot stood up brushing off his pants as he did so. "Well, I do believe it's time to take my leave. Oh, and make sure that staff doesn't get into the wrong hands, will you? I don't think I can handle any more humans getting their hands on it."
"Wait!" He yelled, "Aren't you going back to Asgard?"
Rudolf laughed, "My dear friend I cannot go back to that place. It is not my home any longer, besides I have plenty of friends down here." He gestured to the world around him.
"But wouldn't you rather want to be with your people?"
This time the Asgardian did truly laugh, "it never ceases to amaze me how truly narcissistic you humans are."
"What do you mean?"
"In all of Earth, do you truly think you are the only ones to have discovered it?" It was possed as a question but Coulson got the meaning behind it. They weren't alone on Earth.
Elliot then started to laugh even more at the look on Coulson's face. He had never really thought about it. That Earth already had another alien life on it other than what they know about. Sure, there was the occasional gifted person but they weren't aliens they came from Earth. To think that more than just one humanoid species on Earth was actually scary and mind-opening at the same time. He wondered that if this fact was true then how many people had he talked to happened to be an alien. Did any of them work in SHIELD? What about the coffee lady that he went to so often? Could she be an alien?
Coulson rubbed his head. A throbbing sensation in the back had started to form from the days' events. His job was starting to feel like Men In Black more and more each day. As he looked back to Elliot he saw that the man was no longer standing there. All he was looking at now was just empty space. Coulson let out a huff.
The world was starting to feel smaller and smaller every day.
Skye had found Grant at the bar drinking, "Drinking your rage away works but it's only temporary till it comes back." She said he looks at her while she sits down next to him at the bar.
He takes another sip of his drink, scotch, she's guessing, "How would you know?"
"Because it's what I tried to do after a certain event."
"What event?" He asked raising an eyebrow.
Skye took a deep sigh and looked at him wondering if she should tell him the truth fuck it she thought, "Grant I know how you feel, trust me on that, because I do, I know you must feel like a monster but you aren't."
"How did you do it have so much control over it."
"Because I didn't." She admitted, "That person that you saw fighting back there. She wasn't in control at all. In fact, she letting everything out all of the rage and anger. She didn't care who she hurt just as long as she hurt someone." She felt herself leaning into him just a little bit and soon his hand was on hers, "And I deserve to live with that the rest of my life." She told him finally and she was close very close and, "I know you don't want to talk about it but drinking isn't going to help all it's going to do is lead to very stupid mistakes."
"Skye there's a reason that I don't want to talk about it." He breathed out the last part and turned away from her. She almost felt hurt but the rejection but she could understand that he was still upset.
"If you want to talk to me." She said, "You can."
"I don't want some shoulder to cry on."
"That's not what I'm offering." She said harshly, "All I know is that keeping all of this in only leads to two roads. Alcoholism or a mental breakdown and let me tell you none of those options are fun."
"Like you had a mental breakdown?" he scoffed.
That one actually stung, "Actually yeah I did." She snapped at him, "It was after I shot a little boy in the head. While his mother screamed at me and begged to spare him and all I did was shoot the kid in the end. I watched as the life drained out of his eyes and it was first that I realized the monster I had become." She could feel the collection of tears on the side of her eyes and she wiped them away. "But you know what the worst part is. My breakdown, it didn't happen until after I left the mercenary work. I didn't realize that what I did was wrong until it too late. And when I had that breakdown I tried to kill myself. The only thing that stopped was my friend knocking me unconscious and dragging me out of the building."
He didn't even turn to look at her she could see him looking down at the counter in shame, "So, yeah, if you want to talk then make sure you leave your Asshole attitude at the door."
She got off the bar leaving him there. She needed to do something else.
She had been sitting in her hotel room on her bed not knowing what to do. This whole day had turned out to be one big cluster fuck. She hadn't expected Julian to show up and the fact that he did shock her into oblivion. All Skye wanted to do was take a nice, hot, long shower and let her troubles melt away with the water. In fact, she had even gotten into the fluffy robe that the hotel gave them but there was something holding her back. There was something keeping her on the bed that made her not want to get into the shower.
Skye just sat there on the bed looking at the horrible carpeting.
A knock was able to bring her out of her thoughts and she snapped her head up looking at the door. She wasn't expecting anybody but the distraction was not unwelcomed. Although she had put the Do Not Disturb sign on, so they were a little rude. Tightening the strap around her waist a little tighter Skye got up from the bed and walked over to the door. She thought about using her powers about seeing who it was but thought against it. She had used her powers a little too much today and for one night she wanted to be normal.
She unlocked the door and opened it to see that Grant was standing there. She looked down to see a half drank a bottle of whiskey and she opened the door more to allow him access to the room. He nodded and as soon as he was in the room Skye shut the door. She watched as Grant had made himself on one of the seats in her room. She wondered for a moment why he didn't choose the bed, it was the more comfortable choice.
He let the bottle drop to the ground and he leaned back in the chair closing his eyes tightly. She wrapped her arms around her middle and walked over to him sitting on the edge of the bed closest to him. "What's wrong?" She asked him softly.
He groaned, "These flashes of my memories aren't going away. They're making me on edge and I didn't know where else to go."
"So, you came here?" She asked.
"You told me that if I wanted to talk that I can talk." He said then opened his eyes and looked at her a slight smirk on his face, "Whenever I'm with you, you just make the world a little bit more bearable for me."
Skye smiled and stood up holding out her hand to him. He looked at her confused and she shook her hand, "Come on just take it." She said.
Giving her his hand, he raised his eyebrows at her, "What are you doing?" He asked as she pulled him up from the chair. Skye didn't answer him at first. Instead, she pushed him onto the bed and motioned for him to put his head on the pillow. He did so while still keeping the confused look on his face although that changed when she climbed into the bed and straddled him. His eyes widen again and she smirked at the expression.
"Skye?" He said her name as a question.
She shushed him by kissing him. She cupped the side of his jaw with her one hand while the other one was working its way down to the clasp of his jeans. He had put his one hand on the back of her head and pulled her closer while the other one was trailing up and down her thigh. She pulled back and started kissing down his neck.
Deciding that he too many clothes on Skye pulled back and started tugging on the end of his shirt. The motion forced him to sit up and he pulled off his shirt and Skye stared down at his torso. She was really starting to appreciate the morning workouts. "Well," She said loosening the robe slowly, "If all you can do is think about bad memories why not make some new ones?" She ended the sentence by shrugging off her the robe and throwing to the side.
She was now naked and the look on his face was priceless. He sat up instantly and pulled her in closer kissing her with so much passion that it left her breathless. Grant flipped them over and she let out a noise of surprise but quickly turned into a noise of pleasure as he kissed down her neck. He didn't stay at her neck for very long because he clearly had other places he wanted to kiss. He kissed her clavicle and then he kissed down her sternum. He slowed down once he reached the valley of her breast. He took his time, she'll give him that. His one hand grabbed her other breast while his mouth had been occupying the other one. She moaned when he started to suck on her nipple and she arched her back at the feeling of it.
The way Grant had positioned himself caused him to put his knee in between her thighs. She grinned on him while he worked her up. She wanted to make this last for the both of them and when he moved his mouth to the other breast she could help but let out a loud noise of pleasure. He released her nipple with a pop and looked up at her with a smug expression.
"Hey," She panted defending herself, "It's not like I can make a lot of noise on the Bus. If this is my only time to scream and moan as loud as I want then I'm taking it."
He smirked, "If that's the case." He said and moved lower down her body slowly kissing her as he did. When he reached her pubic bone, she smirked. They were finally able to have the time and privacy that they deserved. It wouldn't have to be in a cramped cabin or on top of steel table.
Then just like that, his mouth was on her opening and she let out a gasp. He used his whole mouth to kiss her with. When his tongue enters her, she had to stop herself from bucking up instead she used her hands and wove them into his hair. She groaned then heard him chuckle, she was going to say something witty about the cockiness. Considering the things, he was doing to her though she was going to let this slide for once.
He slid her one leg off his shoulder and on instinct, she arched her back up. The motion caused for his face to be brought closer to her. Skye let go out his hair and grabbed onto the comforter gripping it harder as he started sucking her clit. She was so close to the edge she could feel it, she was almost there all he needed to do was…Skye let out a gasp as Grant added a finger into her.
Her mouth opened in a silent scream as she was taken over the edge. The coil in her lower belly had come undone. She let out slow pants as she rode her high and she unclenched her hands as Grant continued to slow down his movements as she was coming down from her high. She let her head fall against the pillow and enjoyed the feeling of euphoria coming from her climax. It had been a while since she had had sex. She had never had an orgasm like that before and that was just from his mouth.
Skye felt Grant start to kiss back up her body and soon he was hovering over her. She grabbed the sides of his face with both her hands and kissed her hard. She could taste herself on his lips and but she didn't mind. All she wanted to do was kiss him and have him on her for as long as both of them could.
When she pulled back she was still out of breath, "I have to say, it was certainly worth the wait." He chuckled and kissed her again. Skye ran her hands over his torso and down the planes of the chest to where his beltloop was. She pulled back from the kiss and looked down to his pants, "Although I'm starting to wonder why I'm fully naked and you're still half dressed."
Unbuckling his belt and a quick pace Skye had managed to get rid of it. She felt his hands stop her though as he pulled them back. He kissed her one more time before sitting up and undoing his pants himself. She leaned back and watched as he slowly removed his pants and underwear at the same time discarding them over the bed.
Skye raised her eyebrow at his impressive length. "I can work with that." She said cheekily.
He rolled his eyes at her and the both of them moved to under the covers. A few moments later Skye found that Grant was again on top of her. Their bare chest together, his erection rubbing against her, and when their eyes met she couldn't help but giggle.
Grant frowned, "What?" He asked.
"It noting…" She said, "It's just I can't believe that we can actually have sex and not worry about someone hearing us."
His frown then turned into a smile. Grant leaned in and kissed her, she opened her mouth and let his tongue in. His one hand clasped with hers at the side of her head while the other was snaking down to her opening. When he entered two fingers she gasped and bucked her hips up and he groaned when she felt that rubbed against his erection.
The coil was wrapped again in her lower stomach and she pulled back looking at him oddly, "Not that I'm complaining but… I really want you inside me now."
He smirked, "Just making sure you're ready enough." He then looked to the side tabled a frowned, "I'm guessing you don't have a condom."
"Oh, believe me," She said playfully, "It's all good down there and I'm on the pill so we're good."
He smiled and went back to kissing her. As he moved his kissing from her lips to her jaw she felt him place the tip of his shaft at her entrance. Once he kissed her neck Grant entered her completely and she moaned loudly at the feeling of him inside of her. He was stayed still for a moment giving her a moment to adjust to his length. Once he kissed the junction of her neck he moved back out and then thrust back into her.
He kept the rhythm slow at first. Maddening slow, but it felt so good. He hit all the right places and their bodies fit together like puzzle pieces. When his lips found hers again she raked her hands down his back her nails scratching against the skin. Her feet found the small of his back and she used them to push him in farther.
His hand then grasped her hip and pulled her closer creating a new angle. The new angle caused her to moan out his name several times. That must have turned him on more because as soon as she started calling out his name his thrust picked up in speed. The new speed was ever better than the one before and she could feel the coil in her belly getting tighter and tighter waiting to come undone.
The kisses were becoming sloppier and he alternated between her nipple and her lips. She was starting to pick that maybe he was more of a boob man. She could care less at this moment though because he was making her feel amazing. Moving her hands up to his neck Skye did something that she had never done before while having sex.
She used her powers on Grant. While he thrust into her and she called out his name she sent out vibrations all throughout his body. She heard him take in intake in a breath and then he gave her a bruising kiss on her lips. His thrust became harder and more focused and the hand that had been resting to the side of her head now took her hands and pinned them above her head.
"Grant." She panted out and a few seconds later her hips were meeting his as she finally reached her climax. He let go of her hands and she wrapped herself around him enjoying the feeling that he was bringing her once more. A few moments after she had cum she felt his thrust become harder and he held her hips closer to him. Then he let out a moan and kissed her as his movements stilled and he came inside her.
They stayed like that for a moment. Just holding each other and catching their breaths. Then she felt him slip out of her and she was already missing the feeling of him inside of her. He laid down beside her his chest moving up and down rapidly while Skye was doing the same. He put his hand behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. Skye smiled at him and rolled over to him laying her head on his chest and looking up at his face.
She saw Grant smile. "You tired?" He asked.
Skye smirked and made her way on top of him so that she was now laying on him their faces closer together. "Not even close." She said a with a wicked smirk on her face.
Then their lips met again. A sign of any sleep not seen for miles.