Chapter Fifteen: These Violent Delights (Have Violent Ends)


"What are you doing here?" Grant almost vibrated with the rage coursing through him. This was the last thing he needed with John's life hanging by a thread. Skye always robbed him of his ability to focus.

She looked startled but recovered quickly enough, "I could ask you the same question."

"No, you really couldn't considering this is a Hydra base and I work for Hyrda," Grant replied dryly. "The question is what's a SHIELD agent doing here?"

He really should not have pulled her into the closet with him. When he saw her coming, he should have shot her there and ended this distraction. Since he was apparently too weak to even consider it, Grant should have done the next best thing and avoid her. Instead, he had dragged her from the hallway and out of sight.

Being alone with her was a bad idea. Grant knew that, but he could not stop the thrill that shot through him when he saw her. He had not thought he would run into her for a while, if ever, after he ran away, but he supposed something kept drawing him back to her, like magnets.

"Well, Hydra killed one of our own yesterday, so we decided to pay you a visit," Skye said. She was tense with barely concealed anger.

That meant that there was probably a whole SHIELD team on site. Grant should really go help them. Should, should, should.

Grant frowned when the rest of her words caught up to him. The short agent he killed yesterday was probably SHIELD. It was unlikely that it was a coincidence, but why would she act so calm if that were the case. Maybe SHIELD just did not know who exactly it was that killed him.

He felt the strange need to defend himself. "One agent's death triggered this response?" Grant waved a hand to indicate the muted alarms and sounds of fighting. "Guess you're lucky that Hydra doesn't react as out of proportion every time you kill one of theirs."

"Out of- out of proportion?" Skye spluttered. "A man is dead. He had brothers and a nephew. He was a good friend and a loyal man. There's no such thing as blowing it out of proportion!"

She could not possibly be this naïve. "Agents die every day on every side. In fact, I think Rodriguez had a young daughter. I know he had a wife."

"Rodriguez, who?" Skye seemed taken aback at the change of conversation.

"Danny Rodriguez, the man who you shot two minutes ago," Grant tilted his head towards the hallway and the two agents that Skye had gunned down. "He's not getting up again. Neither is his partner. But I don't think James had any family, so I suppose he doesn't count according to you."

Skye gaped with righteous indignation and shock.

"Come to think of it, what happened to your policy about aiming for nonlethal areas only?"

"They're Hydra," she said as if that explained it.

"So they're lives are worth nothing," Grant tone turned cold.

"They're trying to take over the world through the slaughter of everyone in their way and some not even," Skye snarled. "Yeah, I think that makes the protection of their lives not worth much."

"I'll keep that in mind," Grant said.

Skye licked her lips as realization that she was telling this to a Hydra member flashed in her eyes. But she did not back down, and Grant could at least appreciate that kind of stubborn adherence to her principles.

"If I could make sure I never had to kill anyone to protect people, I would," Skye spoke lowly. It was the most serious he had ever seen her. "But I won't let myself die because I hesitated in front of people who won't. People who would then go on to kill a hundred more."

She stared deeply in his eyes and did not fidget. She was in his personal space since there was little room in the closet anyway. The lamplight cast her features in a mysterious and appealing way.

"Maybe," Grant conceded. "But everyone has their reasons."

Skye snorted. "That's a weak excuse." Grant wanted to reply to that, but she did not give him a chance. "But let's hear it."

"Hear what?"

"Your reasons," Skye said, gazing at him intently. "Why are you part of the Nazi Death Cult?"

Grant faltered. No one had asked him that before. Maybe it was that surprise that made him answer honestly. "There's someone owe everything to. I need to help him."

As soon as he finished speaking, he cursed himself. He should not have given her any information that she could potentially use against him or worse, use against John. No doubt she could connect the dots and figure out John was the one he was referring to. SHIELD would know he was the only one Grant spent any time with anyway.

But he did not want to lie to her. All he ever did was lie.

"I hardly think there's anything that someone can do to make you 'owe them everything'," Skye said skeptically.

"You don't forget the person who valued you when no one else even saw you," Grant told her.

Skye appeared at a loss for words. Her eyes had softened and the look she gave him made his heartbeat quicken. He knew that he had to end the conversation quickly or he would likely find himself doing something he would regret.

So before she could respond, Grant spoke gruffly, "You should go. Your team is probably missing you."

"Not likely." Skye pointed to her ear. "My comms unit is quiet."

"Then I'll go," Grant said. He could not think of anything he wanted less. The close quarters was driving him mad though. It made the moment feel more intimate than it had any right to.

Grant turned to leave. He grasped the doorknob firmly with the full intention of walking away from the dangerous attraction to the captivating SHIELD agent, but soft fingers gripped his upper arm and turned him back towards disaster.

Skye pulled him in by his shirt and their lips met. It was soft and hesitant at first. Skye was obviously unsure of how he would respond and that made the experience different from all the other times they had kissed. In Seville, it was curiosity. In Streiten's office, it was teasing. But here and now, all Grant felt from her was the warmth and openness. It was the chastest kiss he had received- but it was the first one he could ever recall that quickened his pulse and made him gasp.

Her lips lingered on his own for several excruciating seconds before she drew away again. She stared up at him as he stood frozen in the position she left him in. She shifted uncertainly and let go of his shirt. But when she began to step away, he gave in to the desire he had been fighting so long.

He moved forward and framed her face in his hands. He swiftly lowered his mouth to hers and captured her in a far less innocent kiss. Whatever tentativeness had existed in her before was swept away by the sheer force of his lips on hers.

He backed her up to the wall as he wove one of his hands through her hair. It was pulled back for the mission, and he yanked the tie out of it while never breaking the kiss. He ran his fingers through her now loose strands and used them to angle her head further back and make it easier to keep their mouths connected.

Skye's hands were even busier. She could not seem to decide where she wanted to put them, and they ran over his body determinedly. She tugged at the bottom of his shirt to pull it out of his pants and snuck her searching hands underneath. She felt her way across the contours of his chest and fingered the muscles in a way that made him shiver. She slid her arms around him and her hands danced along his back with the same intent attention.

Grant tore his mouth away from hers and listened with no small amount of satisfaction as she whined from the loss. He mouthed down her jaw and to her neck, licking and kissing her to the point that her nails dug into his back as she moaned uninhibitedly.

He had only enough conscious thought to stop himself from leaving marks. Her team could not see her leave with mouth-shaped bruises along her neck. A large part of him wanted to ignore that logic and leave some proof that he had driven her wild under his tongue.

Grant's hands dropped from her hair and gripped her underneath her backside. He hoisted her up, and Skye quickly followed his lead. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist and aligned their hips. Grant groaned loudly as he slapped a hand on the wall to steady himself.

When he regained some semblance of composure, he returned his focus to her lips. As he kissed her, she began to grind her hips frantically against him. He knew she could feel the evidence of his arousal given their position, but she just kept going. If she continued, he was going to lose it in a supply closet while the rest of the Hydra base was under attack.

It was that thought that finally pushed through his consciousness and demanded his notice. Forcibly he ripped his mouth from hers.

She grabbed at his face to pull him back, her eyes darkened by desire. Her stare was hazy and her attention seemed to solely be on fastening her mouth to his once more.

"Stop," Grant growled as if it pained him. Because it did. Not many things tested his excellent self-control, but Skye seemed to be an exception.

Her eyes began to clear as she struggled to refocus her thoughts. As she did, her expression colored with confusion. No doubt she was wondering why he was drawing away when his erection pressing against her showed he wanted this as much as she did.

As if testing his resolve, Skye rolled her hips against his. He moaned despite himself and dropped his shoulder to the neck he had been kissing just minutes ago. He mumbled into her neck, "We have to stop."

"No, we really don't," Skye said with some manner of coherency. She clutched his head to her collarbone and tightened her grasp on his waist.

Grant knew if he let her, she would convince him to ignore reason and surrender to her. With that thought, he gently pulled her legs to release himself and stepped back.

He stared at the captivating woman in front of him momentarily at a loss for words. She leaned back against the wall with her chest heaving. Her eyes were lidded with lust as she gazed back at him. Her neck marred with red marks despite his attempts to retrain himself. Her lips were swollen. He stared at them for a longer time than he should have as he fought the urge to capture them once more. Skye's hair was a mess, and her clothes were rumpled from his aborted attempts to loosen them. It was unfortunate, or fortunate he supposed, that tactical gear was not easy to remove. Grant was sure he looked just as debauched.

They caught their breaths for a moment before Grant regained the ability to speak. "You need to return to your team before they realize you're missing." His voice was low and husky, and Ward watched as she shuddered before him at the sound.

Skye closed her eyes for a moment to regain her composure before fixing him with a resolute stare. "Right." Neither of them said or did anything for a beat before Skye activated her earpiece. "Anyone copy?" Grant could not hear the responses she got, but they had her nodding along.

Her eyes were locked on his the whole time, and that almost distracted him from the fact that Skye appearing relieved probably was a bad sign for his colleagues. Normally that would not bother him, but Kara was around. Maybe SHIELD would take her and be able to do something for her brainwashing. Maybe SHIELD did not know she was brainwashed and would torture and kill her instead. Maybe SHIELD really could not be bothered to help even if they knew the truth.

Skye's voice interrupted his thoughts. "I'll meet you at the extraction point shortly." Her voice sounded breathy still, but Grant assumed she could pass it off as having just ended an intense fight as opposed to having almost fucked an enemy in the closet of the base she was supposed to be raiding.

Just the thought of how disastrous their situation had become made Grant want to hit himself. Why was it so hard to just stay away from this one woman who was so completely off limits in every way?

Skye deactivated her comms unit and gave him a look of resignation. She had to leave. She was going to walk out that door and abandon him to his tortuous thoughts. That should have been what concerned him, but he instead found himself wanting to smooth over the creases of her brow. She seemed so reluctant and unsure, and all Grant needed in that moment was to reassure her.

The power she had over him was frightening. Ward knew if he let her in completely, he would never be able to go back. The knowledge was as terrifying as it was tempting.

"I've got to go," Skye said. She ran a hand through her hair in an attempt to make it look presentable, but it only appeared more disheveled.

Grant approached her slowly, almost afraid that moving too suddenly would result in them losing their resolves and send them into a tangle of limbs and lips again. Skye watched him advance without a word of protest. Grant suspected she would not fight if he kissed her again. That sent a shockwave of desire through him.

But instead of capturing her mouth once more, Grant simply ran his fingers through her hair and erased the evidence of their earlier activities. He tugged the collar of her shirt to obscure the marks on her neck. He righted her clothing and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Skye looked up at him wide-eyed the whole time.

When his attention was drawn to her swollen lips, Grant lightly brushed a finger across them in spite of his better judgment warning him against it. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip and her mouth parted invitingly. Grant stepped back before he could do anything that he would not be able to stop.

"Thank you," Skye said softly.

Grant just nodded and waited for her to leave. Sure enough, she took a deep breath and started towards the door. Grant's jaw clenched as he fought the urge to say or do something stupid, anything to make her stay.

As if reading his thoughts, Skye paused at the door and glanced back. She licked her lips as she contemplated something. Grant impatiently stood in anticipation as she worked up the nerve to speak.

"Meet me," Skye said.

"What?" Grant blurted. It was a terrible idea. It was one thing to have these strange and dangerous encounters by accident and another entirely to intentionally plan out a meeting. Things were spiraling out of Grant's hard-earned control, and he was torn between fighting and embracing it.

She told him the address of a hotel outside D.C. "Eleven tomorrow night." She did not give him a chance to respond before darting out of the room.


Skye's adrenalin was pumping as she left him in the closet they had just made out in. Even the thought of it made Skye smile to herself.

In the back of her mind, she could clearly hear Simmons' warnings and her own insistent concerns. She was well aware of how bad of an idea it was to kiss a Hydra agent in the midst of an infiltration mission, and it was even worse to plan to meet up with him. There was nothing that would stop him from staging a trap for her if he wanted to.

But Skye could not find it in her to care. Her blood was still singing as her heart pumped overtime, and she had the strangest urge to giggle as she ran to reunite with the others. Even with all the anticipation of kissing him, Skye had still never imagined it would be so exhilarating.

She could not call it satisfying though. It was like the tiniest sip of water that made you realize how dehydrated you were but unable to get anymore to quench the thirst. Skye had not known what she was missing before, but now that she did, she could not wait to experience it all.

His moves were feverish and intoxicating as he finally gave in. When she ground into his erection right before he pulled away, Skye had watched as his eyelids fluttered and his mouth opened. She had just known that she could tear off his clothes and push him to the floor, and he would not be able to resist. Skye had recognized he wanted her, too, for a while, but he had resisted. The feeling of knowing that she had finally and completely wrecked his ironclad self-restraint was empowering.

Tomorrow night she would make sure nothing would stop her from testing her theory that she could make him fall apart under her.

Skye left the base and let the cool night air wash over her in the hopes that it would do something for the heat still thrumming in her veins. Skye breathed in deeply and calmed her mind. She could not let Bobbi, Hunter, or Trip read what had just happened on her face. Luckily for her, Skye was getting very good at controlling her expressions.

Skye found her team waiting for her at the extraction point. She assessed them for injuries immediately and was dismayed when she realized that she was the only one to come out unscathed.

"What happened?" Skye asked Trip as she approached him. In the darkness, the little light she got from the moon made it hard to tell the severity of their wounds, but she could discern that Trip was holding himself awkwardly.

"Agent 33 is a fighter," Trip replied.

"Agent 33? Was that the woman I left you with?"

"Yeah. She grazed me with a couple of bullets and got a couple of good hits in, but I'll be fine."

"I shouldn't have left you," Skye said. Guilt welled up inside her. While her friends were fighting for their lives, she was fraternizing with the enemy. She only felt more ashamed when she realized that she still did not regret it.

"Nah, it's all good, girl," Trip said with a smile that looked more like a wince.

"We're lucky it wasn't worse," Bobbi cut in. She sounded tired, but Skye could not see her face clearly to judge her expression. "Did you get any intel, Skye?"

"No." Truthfully, even if she had tried, Zach probably would have stopped her. Skye did not see anything of value in her search anyway.

"Then we wasted our time," Bobbi said. "We're all banged up and don't have anything to show for it."

"We dismantled that base. That's not nothing," Trip pointed out.

"33 escaped you and no one Hunter or I saw was a valuable member of Hydra. This wasn't worth the risk."

"We wanted justice for Eric, that's not worthless," Skye said.

Bobbi snorted. "Justice for Eric? Were you able to find Grant Ward then?"

"No," Skye said before she paused. "I don't even know what he looks like."

"What?" Hunter exclaimed. "What if you had actually run into him?"

"Ward wouldn't be away from Garrett or in a base so out in the open," Trip said.

"I was kidding, Hunter," Bobbi said exasperated. "If there was even a chance that we'd run into him, Coulson would've sent more than just us. Ward's the key to finding Garrett and you know how badly Coulson wants him."

"You don't think it's weird that she doesn't even know what he looks like?" Hunter said incredulously. "Where were you when we were tracking Garrett and him down?"

Skye raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't cleared for combat back then. You know, I was kind of a walking earthquake machine." Skye could not help the bitterness that crept into her tone. She had been grounded for months, living in terror and solitude for the most part. It had only hurt more that her friends were out risking their lives while she was stuck in a cage trying to focus on not tearing HQ down.

Hunter lacked tact, but even he knew better than to touch upon that. "I'm just saying that's probably something you should know if you're going to be running after Hydra in the field."

"Well, it's hardly the first time Coulson failed to keep his agents informed," Bobbi said quietly.

Skye ignored her. "Okay, so I haven't had any missions relating to Grant Ward or John Garrett, but it's not like I'm ignorant when it comes to Hydra." Skye bristled. Hunter was a mercenary up until recently, and he had the gall to act like she was this stupid rookie or something. "As if you know all the Hydra agents on sight."

"I know a couple," Hunter said defensively.

"Stop, guys," Trip interrupted. "There was never a possibility that we'd see Ward, but we'll get him for Eric eventually."

They lapsed into silence as they waited for May's arrival. Skye stewed to herself, her earlier giddiness gone. She hated feeling like the odd one out, and no matter how much time had passed since she transformed, it still happened all the time. Little things like this would come up and remind her that she had been locked up and reevaluated as a SHIELD agent. Sometimes she still felt the need to prove herself- and the fear that one day her badge would be taken away, and she would be imprisoned permanently.

Coulson and her friends had come around, for the most part. There were some people in the know on base that still gave her a wide berth, and Mack had never gotten over it. Skye told herself it did not matter because those closest to her did not seem to care. Sometimes she wondered though if they were as unbothered as they tried to act around her. No one ever wanted to hear about the way she felt the vibrations flowing through her, the way she could sense them in everything. It seemed like most everyone wanted to pretend nothing had changed.

Occasionally Skye worried that she would lose control one day and everything would come crashing down around her.

As if conjured by her contemplations, Skye felt the distinct vibrations of the trees around her, the grass on the ground, Bobbi, Hunter, Trip, and the Quinjet approaching all demanding her attention. Skye fought it down and felt the answering pains in her body. She would have to tell May to take her out soon to release the repressed energy. The thought depressed her, and she filed onto the plane quietly behind the others.

As they flew back to HQ, Bobbi, Hunter, and Trip spoke amongst themselves with all traces of any earlier tension gone. They let her sit in silence, maybe realizing that she needed space or maybe because they did not know how to talk to her around the elephant in the room that was her freakishness.

This was why Skye needed to meet with Zach so badly. Her friends were great and she was fiercely loyal to SHIELD, but they could not take the weight off her chest that dragged her down lately. He did though. When Skye was with him, she felt excited and carefree. When she was with him, she felt human. That was just as intoxicating as the pressure of his lips on hers.

He did not know about her "abomination" status, and that helped, but it was not everything. In the end, Skye just craved the electric connection she felt with the man and the way it reminded her that she was desirable, that she was made for more than destruction.

Being with him allowed Skye to remember that she was more than just some alien's creation and weapon.


(Title is from a Romeo and Juliet quote: "These violent delights have violent ends. And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, which, as they kiss, consume." Totally not ominous, right?)

This took longer than I thought it would because writing kissing and sexy stuff is something I've actually never attempted before. I hope it turned out okay. I've always had my reasons for why I think Skye wouldn't know what Grant looks like in this AU and I highlighted a couple in this chapter because some people questioning how it was possible.

Thanks so much for the absolutely amazing feedback last chapter! Literally you are the reason I fought through writer's block to get this up so quickly.