The Joys of Quarantine

"You've been in a good mood lately," Trip remarked as he and Skye sparred. He'd just shoved her off-balance with his shoulder and grinned when she frowned at him. In response, Skye slammed him with a hard punch. As he staggered back, she dropped to the floor to sweep his feet out from under him. Trip fell hard onto his back. He shook his head ruefully as he got back onto his feet. "Girl, you learn fast."

She grinned at him. "I've had some time on my hands."

Trip laughed as he grabbed his towel, wiping the sweat from his face. "Isn't that the truth?"

He picked up the two water bottles they'd placed by the edge of the mat and threw one to her. After drinking half the bottle, he put the lid on and looked at Skye. "A few weeks ago, I didn't think I'd ever see you smile again and now it seems like you're on top of the world. I know it isn't mission-related since we haven't been on any, so what's up?"

Skye felt a small sliver of fear go up her spine but told herself to calm down. It's just Trip. She shrugged. "Nothing in particular. It just occurred to me that maybe this pandemic has its uses."

"Really?" he asked skeptically. "This ought to be good. Like what?"

"Like practicing my sparring skills so I can knock you on your ass." She winked outrageously at him when he rolled his eyes. "And like having enough time to hack for fun instead of only using the computer for missions."

Trip nodded thoughtfully as they both headed towards the toward to the hallway. "Huh. Those sound good but they don't add up." He paused in the doorway, a teasing grin on his face. "You don't have to tell me the truth but girl, if I had to guess, I'd say you've fallen in love." With that parting shot, he turned towards his room, leaving Skye gaping soundlessly at his back.

He's wrong, she mused to herself as she headed back to her room for a shower. I was already in love. If nothing else, the last few weeks had proven that. She smiled, thinking about how much more in love she was now, ever since she'd left Grant at that picnic table.

Once the coronavirus hit, supply runs had been a blessing and a curse. The person who went on the run got to go out and experience the world (or at least get a break from the Playground) but they also were forced to endure a 7-day quarantine once they returned. That way the virus – if acquired – had time to incubate before the agent could take the test to see if infection had occurred. Thankfully, no one had yet gotten infected. Given Jemma's skill in biochemistry, it was strongly believed that if such an infection occurred, she'd be able to treat it but no one wanted to put her skills to the test. Thus, depending on the agent's level of cabin fever, supply runs were either desperately desired or imminently dreaded.

Due to the large number of agents living at the Playground, Skye's turn had only happened once, the day she ran into Grant at the store. Prior to that, she would've been miserable at the enforced solitude but once she saw Grant again, she was thrilled to be able to process their interaction to her heart's content. It didn't hurt that she also got to binge-watch movies and tv shows as much as she wanted. But the biggest benefit was being able to email Grant over a secure channel.

As she soaped herself in the shower, she thought back – not for the first time – to when their conversation at the restaurant ended. She enjoyed replaying those events over and over. It was the first time since Cybertech that she truly thought they might find their way back to each other.

Right after Grant asked where they went from here, his phone went off. He looked at his phone, got up from the picnic bench, and held up a finger to indicate he'd take the call and be back in a minute. Skye sighed as she watched him move to an area where he couldn't be overheard. She had a feeling that their stolen time was up.

Sure enough, his expression upon returning to the table was resigned. "I'm sorry, Skye." Grant smiled faintly as he sat back down. "I seem to be saying that a lot today. But I have to go." He paused, looking at her as though he wanted to say something else. She realized that he was trying to ask if she wanted to see him again but wanted it to be her idea.

"I know this is going to be tricky with our situation but when can we meet again? We still have a lot to talk about." Skye tried hard to keep the desperation from her voice. They'd just started working things out. She didn't know if she could lose him again, especially now that they'd both admitted to having feelings for each other.

Grant nodded. "We do. But I don't know…" his voice trailed off as he looked off in the distance. Skye knew him well enough to know that he was running scenarios, trying to figure out how they could continue seeing each other. He turned back, his mischievous expression signaling that he'd thought of something. "It's probably a stupid question but do you think you could email me on a secure line?"

Skye snorted, rolling her eyes. "Hmmm….let's see. Is the Pope Catholic? Do cows give milk?" She smiled when Grant chuckled. "Of course I can, Doofus."

His smile widened at her term of endearment, almost as if he knew that Robot and T-1000 were no longer on the table. "Just a minute," he told her. Grant went up to the restaurant window, retrieved some paper and wrote on it with the pen the employee provided for him. He then gave the pen back, squirted some of the free sanitizer they had at the window, rubbed it on his hands and came back to Skye. "Here's my email address. I check it regularly so whenever you want to send a message, I'll respond."

Skye took the piece of paper, feeling like it was a treasure she had to protect. After all, it would be her only connection to Grant after he left. She wasn't even worried it might be infected. She looked into his eyes, willing herself not to tear up again. Then she glanced at the writing on the paper: Masterspy2000 . She snorted in disbelief, the spell broken. "Really?"

Grant grinned. "Not my idea." He stood up, his smile replaced by a vulnerable expression, one she'd rarely seen on his face. "Do you really miss me like crazy?"

"Believe it or not, Grant, I do."

He smiled as he picked up her hand, gently kissing the inside of her wrist. Then he was gone, leaving Skye breathless.