Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! Something...happens in this chapter. Something that I think many of you have been waiting for. :)
Enjoy!
When Adian's just over ten months old, they take a trip back to Afterlife so that Skye can fulfill her promise of setting the place up with state-of-the-art Wifi capabilities. Grant flies the quinjet, of course, while Skye spends time in the back with Adian, keeping the baby entertained and occupied during their long flight.
They'd spent a good amount of time back at base, working on reestablishing their good relations with the US government, hopefully allowing them all to no longer be fugitives of the law and live normal lives. Well, what resembles a normal life when you're an agent of a no-longer-secret government organization.
They'd kept in touch with Skye's parents too, like they said they would. They'd called them every few nights, allowing Adian to hear their voices before he went to bed, and sometimes in the morning after they all woke up. They hadn't told them about Adian's new skill of walking yet, though, wanting it to be a surprise for them when they see him again.
Soon enough, after a long flight, they reach the field where they usually land, just outside Afterlife, and then they're making the usual trek up to the village.
Grant carries Adian during most of the walk, not wanting him to find something gross on the ground and try to mess with it or put it in his mouth. Adian is definitely still in his curious phase. Max walks in front of them, Skye holding onto his leash so he doesn't get too far away from them.
Once they get close enough to the main square of Afterlife, Grant sets Adian's feet on the concrete, him and Skye each taking a hand to help him steady himself, and then guide him in the direction they need him to go.
"He's walking?" Jiaying questions as they get closer.
"Yeah, sorry we didn't tell you guys," Skye says. "We wanted it to be a surprise."
"Well, it's certainly a great surprise."
Grant lets go of Adian's hand and takes Max's leash from Skye, allowing her to kneel down behind their son, holding carefully onto his waist as she points in front of him.
"Look over there, baby. Can you walk to Pop Pop and Waípó?"
After he takes a few hesitant steps forward, he squeals excitedly and then moves as fast as he can across the pavement to his grandparents.
Cal and Jiaying move a little closer to lessen the space between them and Adian, crouching down and holding their arms out to him.
Adian grins happily as he moves across the pavement, his own little arms stretched out to his grandparents. He's babbling excitedly and incoherently as he goes.
Cal and Jiaying both praise Adian once he reaches them, happy smiles on their faces as they hug him and kiss the top of his head.
"You did so well, Adian," Jiaying says with a smile, running her hand down over the top of his head. "Pretty soon you'll be outrunning your parents and getting into all sorts of trouble."
"Oh please no," Skye remarks. "He already managed to escape after his nap once he started crawling. I nearly had a heart attack when I couldn't find him. But thankfully, he was just in the hallways, so he hadn't actually gotten into anywhere he wasn't supposed to be."
"Well that's good," Cal says, smiling at Adian.
Skye lets out a heavy sigh. "Yeah. I just can't believe he's going to be a year old soon."
"Neither can I," Grant pipes in. "Our little guy isn't going to be so little anymore eventually. Not sure how we feel about that."
"We wish we could help you out there," Cal tells them, a brief glimpse of sadness and regret flashing over both his and Jiaying's faces. "But, unfortunately, we didn't get to go through all of this like you two do. My best advice would be to just cherish the time you have with him while he's still young."
Grant smiles. "That's some pretty good advice, actually."
The rest of the day, while Skye's setting up the Wifi with her mom and explaining how different things work, Grant spends that time hanging out with Cal and Adian, getting to know the grandfather of his son a little bit better. They talk about whatever they can, a few moments of awkward silence between the two of them in the beginning. But they're able to get over it fairly quickly once Adian squeals or shrieks or shouts 'Dada' to get their attention. It still makes Grant's heart swell every time he hears it. He's been able to say it for a little while, but now Adian actually knows who 'dada' is every time he says it. At least, that's what he figures since Adian only seems to say it to his face or when he sees his picture or wants him. It's honestly the best part of his day, no matter how many times it happens within that day. It's probably his favorite part of being a dad.
.
.
.
Wringing her hands together, Skye approaches Grant slowly, breathing in deeply. She'd left Adian with her parents for a few hours after feeding and burping him, trusting the both of them to entertain him while she talks to Grant. Thankfully it doesn't take her too long to find him. He's standing out in one of the fields, flames engulfing his hands as he most likely experiments more with his abilities in order to figure out what he's truly capable of.
"Hey, Grant?"
He looks over his shoulder. "Hey. What's up?"
She shifts on her feet. "Could I talk to you for a minute? It's kind of important."
"Yeah, sure. Just give me a second." He sends out a quick blast from his hands and then extinguishes the flames, turning around so he's facing her completely. He takes a deep breath. "So what do you want to talk about?"
"Us."
His brows furrow together tightly. "Us?"
She nods. "Us."
"'Us' is kind of a strong word, don't you think?" he asks her, and her mind flashes back to that one moment that feels so long ago now, the moment that led to their son being conceived.
She shrugs, despite the way her heart is racing inside of her chest. "Maybe. But I still want to talk. Spending so much time with you, raising Adian together, it got me thinking. About us. About the future. I don't...I didn't think I'd ever even have half of what I do. But I love my job, I love our son, and I think...I think I love you."
He quirks a brow at her. "You think you love me?"
"I'm still trying to sort everything out in my head," she tells him quickly. "But I love seeing you with Adian, you're such a great dad. And we were good together, however short a time it was. I care about you, Grant, a lot, and I know you care about me too, you've never lied about that. And I guess...I guess the thought of either of us being with someone else before we've actually tried to be together ourselves kind of makes me a little sad. We'll never know if we don't try, right?"
"I've wanted to be with you for a long time," he admits quietly, taking a few steps toward her. "I don't think I can pinpoint one specific moment when I realized it because it all just kind of crept up on me over time, but I want to be with you, Skye, in whatever way I can."
"Really?"
He nods, taking another small step closer to her. "Really." He reaches up to place his hands on her arms and a shiver runs all the way up her spine at the contact. "I'm pretty sure I love you too, Skye, and I don't want to waste any more time. I would have said something sooner but I didn't want to rush you into figuring out your feelings. I was willing to wait however long I needed to for you."
Skye gives him a small smile. "I appreciate that. But you don't have to wait anymore." She steps closer to him, sliding her arms around his torso and tilting her head back to look up at him. "I want to be with you too."
His beaming smile is all the permission she needs to rise on her toes and press her lips to his. It's slow and gentle at first, they haven't done this in over a year, but soon things between them start to heat up.
His hands slowly slide down off her arms, resting instead on her hips to pull her closer. She kisses him deeper, pressing her body as close to his as she can get it. She's wanted him from the start but was never willing to let herself acknowledge that. She couldn't, not with everything that had happened. But now, now she isn't afraid to admit that she wants to be with him.
Reluctantly pulling away, she breathes heavily, dropping back down onto her heels and resting her forehead against his chest.
"Wow," he whispers. "That was one hell of a kiss."
"I figured we've waited long enough." She lifts her head to smile up at him. "No more wasting time. I want to be with you, Grant."
He smiles back at her. "I want to be with you too." He closes the small space between them again and she smiles against his lips.
Running her hands up his back, she tangles her fingers in his hair, pulling him down closer and kissing him deeper. She presses her body against his, her heart beating rapidly in her chest.
Pulling away just a hair, she whispers, "Why don't we find somewhere more comfortable?"
"You sure?" he asks just as quietly.
She nods. "I'm more than sure."
He huffs out a small laugh and kisses her again, his hands moving up to cup her face in his hands. The way he kisses her makes her toes curl and her heart clench in the best way possible. Yeah, she definitely made a good choice here.
So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
One more chapter to go! Who's ready?
Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!