Chapter 35 - Visitors
This chapter takes place before and during S2 episode 13 and may use portions of dialogue from the episode.
The team left them alone for a full two days, though when Skye ventured out she found that May had made good on her promise to stock the fridge. There was even a casserole ready-made in a dish which she just had to heat up, which she suspected was Phil's work. There were a lot of vegetables in it.
The following morning, though, there was a tentative tap on the Cage door, and Jemma's voice called;
"Are you two decent?"
"Approximately!" Skye called back with a chuckle. She had a T-shirt and yoga pants on, and Brock was on the floor wearing just cargo pants and doing push-ups. Skye was enjoying the view.
"Oh, my goodness," Jemma said on opening the door and being confronted by a lightly sweating mass of male muscle on the floor, and Skye laughed at her.
"Are you ever going to get over that reaction around hot muscly guys, Jemma?"
"Probably not," she admitted, cheeks pink. "Is it very wrong of me to admit that I kind of hope my soulmate isn't a lab nerd like me? Or that if he is, he's the kind who works out as well?"
Skye snickered. "Nope, not wrong at all. I'm sure he'll be just the kind of guy you'd want him to be, though. That's kind of what soulmates are all about, after all," she said teasingly. "Anyway, what's up?"
"Oh! Right. Well," Jemma stuttered, trying to focus on Skye. Fortunately, Skye wasn't worried in the slightest and just laughed again. "Actually I came to see Brock," Jemma admitted, "though I wasn't expecting, um, quite that much of him."
Brock snorted. "You never sneaked into the gym to watch STRIKE agents working out then, Simmons?"
"No!" Jemma claimed, though her cheeks went even redder and Skye wondered if she was being entirely honest. "Look - Phil asked me to come talk to you about your eyes. See if we can find something that's a better solution than blindfolding yourself, even temporarily. Fitz and I made up some lenses of different kinds of crystal and metal composites, thought we could try and see if they're affected by the - whatever the thing in your eyes is. And then Fitz is going to make a visor or something to fit them in, make it more comfortable for you."
"That's actually a really good idea," Brock agreed, finishing his count of push-ups and getting to his feet. Jemma watched in puzzlement as he walked across the Cage without hesitation to pick up a water bottle. With his eyes closed.
"What…?" she began.
"Brock can see, a limited amount, through my eyes when we're close enough," Skye admitted. "Now that we've rebonded."
"He can? You have? But - that's wonderful!" Jemma enthused.
"If anything, it's stronger than before," Brock said in a low voice. "The bond, I mean. But yes, in close proximity I can borrow Skye's view, though it's taking some getting used to."
"I can imagine! It would be a lot like trying to draw while only looking in a mirror. Her view wouldn't line up with where your own eyes would place something unless you were right behind her," Jemma mused thoughtfully, distracted by this new dimension. "I've never heard of a soulbonded pair that could use each other's senses. It's all quite intriguing. I wonder what caused it…"
"So, you have these lenses to try?" Skye prompted after a moment, and Jemma blinked.
"Oh, right, of course. Did you want to try them in here? Or..?"
Skye shrugged and looked at Brock. "I haven't really seen what Brock's eyes do, so…"
"It would definitely be best to keep experiments to somewhere that I can't do a lot of damage," Brock answered with a shrug. "If this thing can withstand Asgardians, it's probably fine. As long as we keep the electronics out of my sight."
"Well let's seat you with your back to them, then," Jemma said promptly. "Then Skye and I can stand behind you and out of the danger zone then too."
"Danger zone?" Skye looked at Jemma, a little puzzled.
Brock could already feel himself tensing up in reaction to the slight thread of fear he could sense in Jemma's voice. "She's right, Skye. It might be dangerous and I won't put you at risk."
"Oh-kay," Skye agreed, and the three of them moved to the desk at the side of the Cage, Brock seating himself and turning the chair to face away from Skye's laptop on the desk.
"Do you think, if you opened your eyes right now - the light would be there?" Jemma asked hesitantly, and Skye looked at her curiously, because Jemma sounded really spooked. She couldn't help but wonder just what Jemma had seen when she tried to examine Brock's eyes.
"Probably. I can feel burning in my eyelids, anyway." Brock didn't mention that he suspected his physical enhancements meant his eyelids were probably healing just fast enough to keep up with the burns his eyes were inflicting.
"Okay. Well, don't open them just yet. I'm going to put a pair of glasses on you. They've got a different lens over each eye."
He felt her fingers brush lightly against the sides of his head, then the bridge of the glasses settling on his nose.
"All right, open your eyes."
There was a flare of white light, a sizzling noise, and a sound like splintering glass.
"Shut them!" Jemma yelped hastily.
Skye started to breathe faster.
"Stop, honey," Brock reached for her hand, grabbed it quickly. "I'm here. You're safe. We're both safe. That was just the first try, wasn't it, Simmons?"
"Yes, yes, definitely, good thing I brought a dustpan and brush…" he felt her sweeping up around his feet. "All right, so those were pretty much just regular glass laced with metallic elements, cadmium and cobalt."
Skye's fingers tightened around Brock's. He didn't have to ask to know that she'd been shocked by the light that came from his eyes. But they'd talk about it later, once Simmons was gone.
Jemma tried half a dozen different lenses, all with the same result. Finally, though, only one lens of the pair on Brock's eyes cracked.
"Hmm," Jemma said thoughtfully, leaning in to look. "Can you open just your right eye again, Agent Rumlow?"
He did. And while the world seemed a little blurry - and distinctly blue-tinged, through the lens - and he could actually feel the heat radiating back against his face, the lens didn't crack.
"Excellent. Expensive, but excellent," Jemma said triumphantly.
"What are they?" Brock closed his eyes for her to take the lens off.
"Laboratory-grown sapphire crystals. Used in the nose-cones of supersonic rockets, actually. They can absorb extreme heat. I'll get Fitz to make you up some lenses, or a visor - you're still getting leakage of light out to the sides, and it still feels, um, extremely hot, so a visor might be best. He should have it ready by tonight. You'll be able to move around a bit more easily, then."
After she'd left - with her dustpan full of shattered crystal and glass - Brock reached out and pulled Skye into his lap. "I take it that looked pretty bad, then?" He hadn't really been able to focus on seeing through her eyes when concentrating so hard on his own.
Skye buried her face in his neck rather than reply, but he could feel her concern.
"It's all right, baby. We're going to get it under control. Both my change and yours. We'll learn to manage it," he soothed gently, stroking her back. "You and me. We're gonna be just fine."
With a sigh, Skye made herself begin to relax. With them so close and their bond so strong, her nerves certainly wouldn't help him any. Brock had been coaching her, not quite the way May had but just as seriously. Skye knew that many people had concerns that Brock training Skye would see him going easy on her; not in this case, definitely. The emotional feedback loops could be a serious problem on any mission. Not that either of them would likely to be leaving the plane, or the base, anytime soon.
As Skye began to relax and Brock focused only on soothing and calming her, setting aside his own worry as counterproductive, he was able to open his eyes again and study her expression. As he watched, the tension lines around her eyes smoothed away and he held her just a little tighter, knowing that she responded well to positive feedback.
It was a little strange for her to see herself through his eyes; she hadn't had a lot of opportunity to adjust to it yet; he'd kept his eyes closed the majority of their time together since re-bonding. For her safety, mostly, because she knew fully well that there were several times when his emotions had settled enough for it to be safe. But he refused to take chances, probably wisely.
Keeping her eyes closed, Skye lifted her head and kissed him softly. "I'm okay. I'm okay," she said in a low voice. She smiled a bit. "Usually I'm the positive one."
"Hey, everyone's entitled to an off-day," Brock answered gently, smiling back - she could feel the smile, even if she couldn't see it at the moment.
Skye laughed softly and nodded. "I'll try to do better."
"You are doing better, sweetheart," Brock assured her in a confident tone. "It takes some people years to do what you've been learning for just a few months. You've come an amazingly long way, and I'm proud of you."
"I don't think I'll ever be able to do it all the time, though," Skye said softly. "I can't be another May."
"I'm not asking you to," Brock answered with a shake of his head. "I'm always here if you need to let go for a while."
Skye snickered. "Mmm. And you're so good at getting me to unwind. I rather like your method of de-stress," she answered huskily.
Brock groaned and pressed his lips to her hair. "Little minx," he growled but he couldn't help smiling when she laughed again. Her slender fingers were tracing lightly over his chest, and with a low growl he lifted her and carried her over to the bed.
There was another knock on the door at that moment, and they both sighed.
"Damn," Brock muttered before calling "Who is it?"
"It's me," May's voice said. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah," he sat up, pulling Skye up to sit beside him, closing his eyes as he felt the heat start to build up again.
May came in, closed the door behind her. Glanced around and pulled up the chair, sitting down to face them both.
"You need to be put on the Gifted Index," she said without preamble. "And since Skye's gift, at least, appears to be tied to her emotions, Phil wants you to see a psychologist."
"Who the hell could we trust with this?" Brock said sharply. "Most of SHIELD's psychologists were on HYDRA's payroll!"
"One wasn't. He'd already left SHIELD, anyway. Dr Andrew Garner."
Brock thought back. He vaguely remembered the man from one of his compulsory debriefings, actually. "Who can vouch for him?"
"I can."
"How?" Brock asked, genuinely startled.
"It's personal," May answered. "But if you trust me as much as you say you do, then believe me when I say that he's safe."
Skye just listened for a few minutes. "You're kidding, right?" she asked after a moment, her tone startled. "Me, with a shrink?"
"It's standard procedure for anyone -" May began, but Skye cut her off."
"But we're not just anyone. We're both agents!"
"Exactly. So you know it's non-negotiable." May's expression was firm, determined. Skye sighed and turned to Brock.
"How can you just sit there and take this?" she asked seriously.
"I've had my fair share of psych evals, too, Skye," Brock said in a low tone. "Don't like 'em, but hardly anyone does. But if May says this guy is good, and can help… I'm willing to trust her."
Skye sighed. "Fine," she agreed, resigned to the necessity. "But I don't have to like it, either."
"Andrew is good. He's done this before," May told her.
"So have I. I grew up in the system," Skye muttered a little sulkily, and Brock felt her emotions rise, the memories of growing up being shuttled from foster family to orphanage and back again. He put his arm around her comfortingly. "I've been through enough of these to know that I hate them."
"You'll like this one." There was an odd note in May's voice, a half-smile on her lips.
"Yeah, how do you know that?"
May stood, heading for the door, and Skye just knew she was going to deliver a zinger of a parting line. Her SO didn't disappoint. "Because I used to be married to him."
"Oh my God!" Skye gasped as the door closed. "May was married?"
"I did know she used to be married, but not to whom," Brock said, amused at her utter shock.
"I can't imagine May married! What do you think the wedding was like? Did she go full-on bridezilla? I am so gonna ask her ex about it."
"I'm betting they went to Vegas," Brock chuckled, pulling her down onto the bed beside him. "Which, if you ever deign to marry me, would be my vote for how we do things."
Skye considered that, knowing from the suddenly serious thread winding through his emotions that he meant it. "Are you proposing?"
"I could go down on one knee if you like," he offered, "or you can just tell everyone I did."
Skye chuckled at that. "It doesn't feel like the right time, just now," her fingers stroked lightly over his stubbled cheeks. "But yes. Of course I'll marry you. In Vegas or anywhere else."
He smiled and kissed her, slow and deep. As always Skye lost herself in the kiss, in the pleasure he took from it as well as her own.
"You better go lock the door, baby," Brock murmured between kisses. "Just in case we get any more visitors."
"Mm," Skye mumbled. His rising arousal was feeding her own, and she struggled to move. "Do you care all that much?"
"I don't, no. But it's possible Fitz might need to come in and measure me for that visor, and do you really want to shock him back into a coma?"
That made her laugh, and eventually get up grumpily and go to lock the door. She stripped her clothes off on the way back to the bed. Relaxed and aroused, he'd felt comfortable and calm enough to open his eyes again, and watched her hungrily as she bent over him, tugging his shorts down so he could kick them off. And then she was kneeling between his legs, the light of mischief in her eyes as she trailed her fingers up his inner thighs, circled delicately around his balls.
"That look spells trouble," Brock murmured. He could feel her anticipation, her genuine wish to do this. He didn't have to ask if she was sure as she bent her head and licked a long stripe up his swollen cock.
"I realised I haven't given you a proper blow job since we re-bonded," Skye murmured between licks. "I want to know how it feels for you when I do." Wrapping her hand around the base of his cock, she enveloped the tip in her mouth, wet and hot, tonguing delicately at the slit.
Brock groaned as Skye engulfed him, watching her and feeling her obvious enjoyment. He gathered her hair up and held it out of her way, but not otherwise directing her. She looked up and met his eyes, knowing that for the moment it was safe enough. He groaned again as she slid her mouth down his length.
Skye purred softly, enjoying her actions almost as much as he was. It felt amazing, and she reveled in her ability to make him feel so very good and the fact that she could feel it so strongly. In turn, Brock moaned as the vibrations transferred to him and Skye mentally smirked in satisfaction.
"Too good, baby," his voice was low and throaty, his hand gentle as he massaged her scalp. "Feels so good… ahhhh," as her cheeks hollowed and she sucked him in deep. "God, you're so fucking beautiful like this," he rasped, and felt her smile in his mind, even though her lips were stretched around him. She bobbed her head slowly and he let out a hiss of breath as the pleasure raced along his nerves.
"Gonna come real quick if you keep doing that," Brock groaned, and the knowledge of Skye's satisfaction with the idea pushed him over the edge as she bobbed her head a little faster. He made a strangled sound and she gasped around him as she felt his orgasm, without the distraction of her own pleasure.
It was an incredible feeling, just being able to focus on him and experiencing what she made him feel. She didn't stop right away either, drawing it out as much as possible and enjoying the sounds he made. It wasn't until he tugged at her hair and she felt he was approaching that pleasure/pain line where everything got blurry that she released him with a final soft kiss. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up against his chest.
She giggled when he rolled half over her, pinning her to the bed with his weight. Despite her earlier tension and frustration she was so happy, and she knew he felt it too. "Let's make sure you can hold onto that good mood through our meeting," he murmured in her ear as his hand glided over her soft curves.
"You had to remind me," she groaned, but even the thought of their shrink session wasn't enough to keep her from arching up into his touch.
"I'll make you forget again," he promised in a low tone, his mouth trailing wetly down towards her breasts.
Oh, that would be plenty enough to make me forget about meetings or other stressful things! Brock can distract me any day.