Grant pushed himself to take the top of the path at top speed. His feet pounded on the ground as tiny rocks and little pieces of dirt went flying behind him. The clean mountain air felt good, even as he was huffing and puffing, and he acknowledged to himself just how difficult living on a plane had been. Recycled and temperature regulated air, small spaces, minimal alone time and prepackaged food – he had disliked all of those things. He was grateful that part of his life seemed to be over, at least for now.

He stopped at the top of the hill and paced around for a few minutes, breathing hard. Only when his breath returned to normal did he allow himself to sit down on a rock overlooking an exquisite vista. Grant grinned to himself as he gazed at the view. I am so lucky. This is totally worth it! Most of his fellow agents did their exercise within the bowels of the Playground but Grant requested, and received, special permission to do his cardio outside. He found that he tolerated the dark and confined space of the base better when he spent some time outside every day. And most days around here were spectacular.

Sometimes Skye came with him – he'd never get over the irony of someone with an outdoors name being such an inside person – but today she'd had work to do, so he'd come up here on his own. Grant took some deep breaths, relishing the fresh feel of them, while going over the events of the last few days in his mind. Before he got into the more difficult events, he allowed himself a few moments to think of the good memories. He could feel his smile getting wider. Skye. What in the world did I ever do to deserve her?

Flashback

After he got in the car, Grant started to ask Skye what she thought about the briefing when she suddenly held up her hand.

"Huh uh," she told him while concentrating on the road. "No work talk. We are officially off the clock."

"OK," Grant replied slowly. He consciously relaxed his shoulders as he considered the fact that most of what they had in common was work. "So where are we going?"

Skye smiled, her eyes still on the road. They'd turned onto a main highway off the mountain. Grant could see snow on the tops of some mountains although the area around the highway was green. "Nope, we're not talking about that either." She glanced over at him. "Be patient. You'll see soon enough."

"Skye," Grant said exasperatedly, "if we're not talking about work and we're not discussing what we're doing tonight, then what do you want to talk about?"

"You," she replied looking sideways at him. Then, obviously seeing what had to be panic on his face, she hurried to add, "Not the big stuff. I already know the basics of how you grew up but while you were asleep right after we got you back, I realized that I don't know much about you."

Grant was pleased by the "after we got you back" part of the sentence but also confused. If Skye already knew his background – and he trusted her skill with hacking enough to accept that she did – then what else was there? He crinkled his brow while he tried to come up with a way to tell her she was crazy without sounding like he meant it.

Skye, once again glancing over at him, grinned a little. "Look, I know that you like board games and the outdoors but that's about it. What's your favorite color? Do you have a favorite food? What book would you take to a desert island? Would you choose cats or dogs or are you one of those weird people who don't like either? Do you prefer movies or television? What kind of music do you like? Political party? Boxers or briefs?" Grant raised his eyebrows at her. "Well, scratch that last one," Skye said hastily, "but hopefully you get my drift. I want to know the real Grant Ward."

Grant looked down at his hands, as looking at Skye suddenly became a bit too difficult. The real Grant Ward? That's a good question. Skye definitely deserved to know who she was dating (if that's what they actually were doing) but Grant didn't know if he had any answers for her. Did he even know the real Grant Ward?

"Hey," Skye said gently. "None of those were supposed to be trick questions. I just want to know who you are."

"And you deserve to know that," he replied softly as he looked into her eyes before she turned her attention back to the road, "it's just that I'm not always sure who I am. You know how I grew up, so you also know that a lot of the time I was whoever I needed to be in the moment. That's how I survived my family and, later, John. That's how I survived being a specialist and a triple agent. There wasn't a lot of time left over for discovering who I was and what I thought." Grant looked out the window, away from Skye, feeling disgusted with himself. He'd always viewed his ability to be a chameleon as a plus but now it just seemed weak. Maybe she shouldn't get involved with me because who knows who I'll be tomorrow.

"Yeah, I totally get that," Skye said, surprising Grant somewhat. He'd been so certain that she'd share his disgust. I should've known better. There was a reason they'd connected with each other so quickly and it wasn't because they both were pretty. He turned to face her again. "That's how I grew up too," Skye continued, seemingly oblivious to his thoughts, "always trying to be what the other kids, the sisters who ran the orphanage and the foster families wanted me to be: the rebel, the good girl, the sweet girl who was grateful for everything. For a long time, I thought that if I just gave them the girl they wanted, then maybe they'd love me." Her voice trembled a little even as she shook her head ruefully. Grant reached over and took her hand and Skye smiled a bit sadly. "But it never worked, not really. I always ended up alone anyway, so after a while, I got tired of trying. One day I just woke up and decided to see who I could be on my own. That's when I got mixed up with Miles and the Rising Tide."

For a while, neither of them said anything, the rhythmic sounds of the road the only noise in the SUV. Grant tried to imagine what it must have been like to grow up the way Skye did, never knowing where she came from or where she belonged. It must have been lonely but a young Grant would have given a lot to have been left alone the way she had been, to have not known the monstrous nature of his family. Most of all, he would have given anything to have control over his own destiny, to decide whether or not to play a role. For Skye, it had been a choice. For him, it had been survival. He wasn't certain that, even now, she understood that crucial difference between them.

"I had the opposite problem," Grant admitted, trying hard to suppress the negative feelings the conversation was giving him. "I submerged the real me so much in whatever role I needed to play that I lost myself."

Skye was quiet for a moment, then she squeezed his hand and smiled at him. "Well then, you're in luck," she said in a lofty voice, "because I happen to be excellent at discovering people's true character."

"Yeah, lucky me," Grant said sarcastically even though he was secretly thrilled. She still wants to know who I am! They both laughed as Skye leaned forward to turn on the radio.

The rest of the car ride was taken up with arguing about songs on the radio and talking about various light-hearted topics. They discussed current events (other than SHIELD's fall), Skye revealed the results of her search for the perfect romantic movie and Grant told some funny stories from his time at the SHIELD Academy. He was just wrapping up the tale of the time some of his fellow cadets convinced him to join them in putting on disguises and heading out to a club – the lead car hadn't seen a dip in the road in time and achieved maximum velocity with the bumpy landing completely messing up their wigs, a sight which caused everyone in the second car to laugh uproariously – when Skye finally pulled into a parking lot. She finished laughing and turned off the engine simultaneously. Grant glanced around as Skye just looked triumphant.

"What is this place?" he asked. Even though they were in the center of a small downtown area, the building looked like it had once been a house. Whatever it had once been, it was now painted red, white, blue and orange and decorated with a distinctly Asian flare. If he had to guess, he'd say that it was intended to represent somewhere around Nepal.

"This is the Sherpa House Restaurant," Skye told him, shrugging a little. "I saw it online and thought it might be fun for us to eat food that's a bit different, for me at least. I know you're quite the traveler." Grant nodded but he didn't really care where they were or what they did. He would have agreed to anything that made Skye's eyes light up as much as they were now. "Besides," she continued as she got out of the SUV and took his hand again, "I heard a rumor that it's romantic."

And it was. The lighting was low, seemingly lit mostly with candlelight, and the two of them had a great time sharing dishes and even feeding each other with both hands and utensils. Toward the end of dinner, Skye laughingly poked a piece of naan bread into his mouth. Instead of taking it and chewing like he had previously, Grant made a point of drawing her fingers into his mouth and sucking on them a little. His eyes met hers and she quit laughing. He gently took her hand and pressed a small kiss onto her palm and then on the inside of her wrist. Grant smiled imperceptibly as Skye swallowed hard.

Her eyes never left his as she said in a faint voice, "We should pay our bill."

"Already done," he said in a low tone, his gaze fixed on her face.

"Well, aren't you a ninja," Skye said, looking down and scooting back her chair so she could get up. "I never even saw you do it."

Grant smiled as he helped her out of the chair, took her hand and started leading her out of the restaurant. He understood that she needed to break the tension between them and was grateful that she had, especially as he noticed that the other diners seemed a bit too interested in them. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't. He found this thought a bit disturbing since he wasn't really sure where Skye was with the two of them being together physically. Every time they'd tried doing something more than kiss lately, she'd called a halt. He was fine with doing whatever she wanted but he kind of needed to know so he could manage his expectations.

Once they exited the Sherpa House, Skye took the lead and headed toward the SUV. "This was just our first stop," she told Grant with a grin. She merely laughed at his raised eyebrows. "Oh, our night is not even close to being over, not by a long shot!" That made sense. After all, there was still the bag to consider. He couldn't wait to find out what was in that.

It turned out that their next stop was the Four Seasons hotel in Denver. Grant turned to look at Skye in amazement when they pulled up to the valet. "The Four Seasons? Really? Isn't this kind of expensive?"

Skye just rolled her eyes as she got out of the SUV, grabbed the bag and handed the keys to the valet. She put her arm through Grant's and semi-pulled him into the lobby. "Seriously Grant?" she said in a whisper. "We all draw a salary but never go anywhere or spend our own money. Don't you think we deserve at least one night of complete luxury?"

Grant just laughed. Skye may intellectually know how he was brought up but she clearly had no clue what being a Ward truly meant. This wasn't his first Four Seasons stay, so he wasn't nearly as charmed by the idea of being surrounded by wealth and comfort. But she was. He understood that, for someone who used to live in a van, this seemed like the height of luxury. But he didn't care. This was her night and whatever made her happy, he would gladly do. He laughed again when Skye went to the reservations desk and checked in as Anna Strong.

"What's so funny?" she asked as she came up to him with the key card and their bag.

Grant shook his head, still smiling. "Anna Strong, member of the Culper Spy Ring in the Revolutionary War?"

"Look at you, Mr. Educated," Skye responded playfully. Grant inwardly grinned. He could tell she was impressed but also irritated that he knew her alias. Then she shrugged. "Given our work, it seemed fitting. Mata Hari or Ethel Rosenberg would be a little too obvious but, since this is Denver and not the east, they probably don't know about Anna." She glanced up at him wickedly. "A girl's got to take her fun where she can find it."

He swallowed hard as the two of them walked toward the elevators. "Absolutely."

As they opened the door to their room, Grant marveled at how much Skye continued to be full of surprises. Their suite had four windows giving impressive views of the mountains and downtown Denver. The large LCD HDTV in the living room was set to a classical music station, there was a fire going in the fireplace while bottles of wine and champagne were chilling next to a private bar. On the dining room table sat a platter of fruit and assorted sweet breads next to a bowl of dipping chocolate. Clearly, she'd thought of everything. Grant guessed that he'd just been given at least a hint of how she wanted their evening to go and he smiled. The Four Seasons was shaping up to be vastly better now than it had ever been in the past.

"So," Skye started after she put the bag down in the entryway. Grant shook his head. Oh Skye, I still have so much left to teach you. Professional spies never put obstacles in the path of a potential exit. "What do you think?"

Grant turned away from the view to look at an even better one. He smiled and strode forward to take her hand. "I think it's perfect. Thank you for doing this." Skye nodded and swallowed hard as he once again kissed her palm. "What would you like to do right now?"

She deliberately stepped back and turned toward the windows. "Well, since the sun's setting, I think we should take some champagne out on the balcony and enjoy it."

Grant smiled a little. "As you wish," he murmured as he moved to the bar to uncork the bottle.

Skye whirled around almost faster than he'd ever seen her move before, her eyes wide. "You've seen The Princess Bride?" she demanded in an accusing voice. "I thought you never watched movies!"

He shrugged and concentrated on filling the glasses so he wouldn't laugh. "Some movies are classics that you just can't miss. Besides, I really liked the book."

"It's a book too?" Skye asked, shaking her head slowly, a smile on her face, as she accepted a glass and moved toward the balcony doors. "You are full of surprises, Grant Ward."

He pushed the doors aside and gestured for her to step out, a matching smile on his lips. "I may have a few more up my sleeve," he said in a low voice.

"I'm counting on it," she said as she lifted her glass up. "To us and to our night off," she toasted.

He clinked glasses with her, drank deeply and sat down to admire the view. Grant rarely allowed himself to indulge in alcohol. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy it but Garrett had long ago drilled it into him how alcohol dulled the senses, impaired judgement, and was murder on the waistline. And Garrett certainly should have known, given just how much he enjoyed beer. But tonight, a little alcohol seemed like just the thing for Grant to turn off his brain and enjoy himself.

The two of them watched the sunset, drank champagne and talked more about light-hearted topics (about how Skye taught herself to code, some of what Grant had seen during his travels abroad). Through it all though, Grant was aware of a rising tension. Skye looked so beautiful sitting there in the dusk with the stars just starting to appear over the skyline. He remembered back when he'd first noticed how thick and lustrous her hair was and how luminous her dark eyes looked when she was passionate about something. He recalled how good her body felt against him when they were training and again when the two of them were in his bunk following his return to the team. As the conversational pauses got longer, Grant realized that the tension wasn't just coming from him. She felt it too.

Suddenly, Skye got up and went over to his chair, extending her hand and pulling him up. She led the two of them over to the balcony edge and then turned to look up at him. Grant was speechless. He had the distinct feeling that this was the moment that would define their relationship. Unbidden, he remembered Skye punching the bag and talking about her past. Hoping for something and losing it hurts more than never hoping for anything. He'd known then how true that statement was but he couldn't keep himself from hoping for more from Skye. In fact, he'd never wanted anything more than he wanted her right now. He almost held his breath, wondering what she was going to say. Would she say what he wanted to hear or would it be another in a long line of disappointments?

Skye turned from the view and put her hands around his neck. "Grant, I wanted our first time together to be special." She pulled his face towards her and kissed him deeply. Then she whispered, "Give me a minute, then meet me in the bedroom" and went back inside the suite.

So this is what it feels like to get everything you've ever wanted. Grant let himself savor that feeling. The alcohol helped to push away the thought that such a sentiment was dangerous and illusory. He went back into the suite, put the bottle and glasses on the bar and headed to the bedroom wondering what he would find.

What he discovered was Skye standing by the bed dressed in a sexy red teddy negligee trimmed in black lace. The colors perfectly set off her golden skin and dark hair. Grant stopped abruptly in the doorway and felt his mouth go dry. He suspected that his mouth had dropped open as well because somehow his brain wasn't working very well. He'd seen plenty of beautiful women dressed in expensive and sexy lingerie but he'd never before had this reaction. Of course he'd enjoyed looking at them and having sex with them wasn't difficult but there was just something about this woman that made everything in his past pale in comparison. I love her so damn much! He struggled to keep his expression neutral and the tears from springing into his eyes. Say something, idiot!

"Where did you get that?" he choked out as he mentally kicked himself. Of everything you could have said…

Skye smiled wickedly and adjusted her stance just a bit, much to his approval. "I had the Four Seasons send it up with the food and drinks." She raised her eyebrows, tilted her head and asked playfully, "Do you like it?"

"You know damn well that I do," he said as he smiled and his feet finally propelled him into the room. "The Four Seasons just keeps getting better and better and you," he said as he pulled her into his arms, "are driving me crazy."

"Well, we can't have that," Skye murmured as she lifted her face to his. Their lips met in a searing kiss that seemed to last forever.

Slow down, don't rush, take your time. He leaned back from her, took a breath and then gently started outlining her lips with his tongue. This led to a slow, sensual open-mouthed kiss in which he was determined to examine every millimeter of her mouth. However, Skye seemed to have other ideas as she pushed him away from her and then kept her hand on his chest.

"Just so you know," Skye gasped (Grant grinned) as she flung her arm out to indicate the king-sized bed, "you can see that we have a huge bed, I paid the hotel extra to make sure we're surrounded by empty rooms, and we have all night." Grant crinkled his brow a bit. What is she talking about? "Don't you remember? When we were on the Bus, you said that when we make love for the first time, you didn't want to be cramped, quiet or rushed."

Grant was in awe. Not only had she remembered his exact words but she'd gone to great lengths to make his wishes come true. He almost felt weak. There's no going back now! He looked her in the eyes and brought his hand up to caress her face. "I don't think I could love you any more than I do right now," he whispered. Skye's smile trembled a bit and he thought that he saw a hint of moisture in her eyes. Nope, no tears tonight! "And damn straight!" he said in his regular voice and started kissing her again.

He gently walked her backwards, kissing her the whole way, and guided her onto the bed, joining her in lying on top of the covers. He moved from kissing her mouth to breathing in her ear, and kissing her neck and collar bone. The whole time he concentrated – as much as he could given the amazing feel of her roving hands in his hair, down his arms and under his shirt – on listening to the sounds she was making. He intended on memorizing every sharp intake of breath, low moan, pant and murmur of "Yes!" or "There!" that he could. Grant gently removed the tenuous straps holding up the negligee, licking down and back up her arms as he did. Skye moaned loudly and he tugged a little on the material in order to get it off. It stayed stuck. Grant pulled a little harder and it moved half an inch. He tried again. Nothing.

Frustrated, he sat up and said, "How in the hell do you get this thing off?"

Looking a little mind-whacked, Skye laughed, leaned up from the bed and pulled the offending material over her head, tossing it onto the floor. She was now only wearing the tiny panties that came with the teddy. She raised her eyebrows. "Better?"

His eyes swept over her body, lingering on her breasts but then traveling back up to her eyes. Her body is great but nothing can beat her face. He smiled slightly and caressed her cheek lightly. "Much," he answered softly. Once again, he saw evidence of tears, so Grant went back to concentrating on making her body feel good. He circled each breast with his tongue and suckled first on one nipple and then the other before going back up to kiss her lips, ears and neck.

After one particularly loud moan, Skye gently pushed him back, smiled and said, "You have too many clothes on." He started to take off his shirt but she stilled his hand. "Let me," she said as she climbed on top of him (Oh god!). Grant was used to pushy women. Many of his sexual interactions were with women of experience who were determined to take just as much as they gave. But this was different, just like everything else had been with Skye. This wasn't dominance; it was partnership.

She took off his shirt and then moved off of him in order to work on his belt buckle. He raised his hips to help her slide off his jeans and smiled when she simply tossed them over her shoulder, not even bothering to look where they fell. He stopped smiling when she ran her hands up his legs, lovingly fondled his penis and then climbed directly on top of it, rubbing her damp panties along his shaft as she hovered over his face.

"Grant," she whispered, "you may not know who you are but I do." Skye started nibbling on the pulse point at his neck. The sensation of her mouth on his skin combined with the rubbing of her panties and the words she was saying was so intense that it almost made him leap off the bed but he willed himself to remain. If foreplay is like this…! "You're smart," Skye continued as she punctuated her words with a kiss on his chest, "compassionate," she kissed further down his chest, "thoughtful," another kiss, "wicked sexy," she suckled his right nipple, "and you suck at Battleship," she finished as she suckled his left nipple while giggling a little. Grant laughed too. Unfortunately, she was right and clearly, he was never going to live it down.

Skye climbed back up to the top of the bed and looked deeply into Grant's eyes while she gently traced the features of his face. "You care," she said quietly. "A lot. And that's what made me fall in love with you."

Grant tried his best to push away the swell of emotion that washed over him at the sound of her words – he certainly didn't want to seem needy – but he couldn't resist. All he managed was to keep the pleading out of his voice. "You love me?" he asked Skye in a whisper.

She stopped caressing his face, looked directly into his eyes, nodded and whispered back, "I do. I love you, Grant. More than you know."

After that, there was no stopping him. He kissed her hard, flipped them over and started kissing, licking and sucking his way down Skye's body. If the noises she was making were any indication, she vastly approved of this turn of events. Grant placed a small kiss on her pubic bone as he gently removed her panties and grinned to himself when he heard her sharp intake of breath. He then held her waist as he softly kissed the inside of first one inner thigh and then the other. He glanced up at her face as he felt her shiver a little, checking to make sure she wanted this, and was rewarded by her glowing eyes, small smile and a caress of his head. Game on.

Grant changed position so that he was hovering over her vagina and started breathing some warm breaths on her labia, not quite touching her. Skye moaned, so he moved on to softly kissing up one side, lightly touching her clit with his tongue and then kissing down the other side. Skye moaned louder, so he licked from the bottom of her vagina to the clit, rolling his tongue around it softly. Grant then wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked, humming a little as he did.

Skye grabbed onto the pillows and moved her hips around, whimpering a little. "More," she moaned.

"As you wish," Grant replied wickedly.

He inserted one finger into her canal and started experimenting to see how she liked it. Soon he added another digit, all while licking and sucking her clitoris. Grant circled his tongue clockwise and counter clockwise, then switched it up by flattening his tongue and moving it up and down, trying his best to stimulate all 8,000 nerve endings. By this time, Skye was moaning constantly and bucking her hips so hard that he had to hold her down with one hand so that she wouldn't hit him in the head. Suddenly he felt her go rigid and his fingers started riding the first ripples of her orgasm. He kept his tongue lightly touching her clit, paying close attention to the sounds Skye was making so he would know when to stop.

"Oh my god!" she panted as her body finally relaxed. "Get up here!" she said, gesturing for him to join her, then turned on her side to face him as he did the same. "That was amazing! I…I never knew I could feel like that," she admitted.

Grant ran his hand lightly down her cheek. "I'm glad it was satisfactory," he said smiling a little and trying to keep the smugness from his voice. Any and all previous lovers of hers were clearly forgotten. "Are you still up for more or do you want to stop?"

"Are you kidding?" Skye asked incredulously, sitting up on her elbow so that she could look at him more fully. "If you can do that, then I definitely want to know what else you can do! Bring it on!"

So he did, for the rest of the night. The two of them had sex in different places, in different positions and with as many variations as possible until both of them were too sore to continue. Then they ate some of the fruit, sweetbreads and chocolate washed down with wine and cuddled in the hot water and soapy bubbles they put in the gigantic tub. Afterward, they crawled under the covers of the bed, reveling in the high thread count of the sheets, and slept, Skye cuddling against Grant's body.

Present Day

Grant got up from the rock and shook himself a little, realizing just how caught up he'd gotten in reliving the best night of his life. Of course, the nights following it had been pretty great too as he and Skye made good use of her remote room. He grinned a little to himself as he recalled the numerous times she'd reminded him of his initial naïve assessment of its location ("I don't know if we're going to make it on time to DC's briefing. It is really far!"). He also laughed when he recalled the great importance he'd attached to the mysterious bag she'd taken from the Bus when all it ended up containing was a change of clothes for each of them, another thing for Skye to make fun of him for. In the future though, he'd get his revenge by filling it with some surprises for her, ones that he doubted he'd live down for years. And with that satisfying thought, Grant headed back to the Playground.