Skye stretched her aching fingers, that had begun to cramp from all the typing, and placed them over her keyboard. She had been working all day, on a new program that would help enhance the tracking systems of the Comms earpieces. Finally satisfied with what she had done, she ran a simulation of the program. She watched with a satisfied smile as it went of without a hitch. Skye quickly attached the program to a protected email, and sent it to the techies on the Carrier. Happy that she had fulfilled her work quota for the day, Skye stretched again, before getting up to leave her 'office'.

Skye called it an office, as it was where she had set up to work, but it was more of a den. Having felt slightly out of place with the great expanse of space the apartment afforded her, she had converted the office room to suit her liking. With a sofa and a desk in there already, she had set up her laptop and the flashy SI desktop Stark had given her. Next, she had taken drapes, and hung them over half to room, creating a van sized tent of sorts. Next went the fairy lights she had found at the bottom of one of her boxes of things. On the sofa, she piled blankets and pillows. Overall, it had a very home-y feel to it. Skye giggled when she realised it was extremely 'Tumblr' of her. It reminded her of her van before she had joined shield. After all the change, she was feeling a little nostalgic, and took comfort in the familiarity.

Heading down to the shared living area, Skye heard chatter from the towers other occupants. Following the noise, she found Tony, Steve and Pepper, discussing something excitedly on the sofas. Skye cleared her throat to alert them of her presence.

'Skye! You've emerged from your cave!' Tony exclaimed, with a cheeky grin. Skye laughed sarcastically, whilst Steve snorted at Tony.

'You can talk, Stark! You spent a week in the garage making Mark 86. I thought you died!'

Tony pouted, as Pepper chuckled in the background at their theatrics.

'Pepper,' Tony whined playfully. 'You're supposed to back me up!'

Skye tried to refrain from laughing as Pepper ignored Tony and rolled her eyes dramatically so only Skye could see, not that she was very successful.

'Skye, did you get the food I sent down for lunch?' Pepper asked.

Skye smiled. 'Yeah, thanks. You really didn't have to go to all the trouble, though.' Skye still wasn't used to people looking after her, with no expectation in return.

Pepper laughed, 'Oh please! It's no trouble. I know your type, having handled Tony for so long. Once you start a project, you wont stop for anything till its done. Its the least I can do, making sure you don't collapse at your desk.'

Skye grinned, knowing Pepper was completely right. It had actually happened once or twice when she lived in her van. Skye settled into the sofa next to Steve, finally relaxing after sitting stiff at a desk all day.

'So, what's got you all so excited?' Skye asked, referring to the fervent conversation she had interrupted.

Tony and Steve began speaking all at once, like children on a sugar rush, before Pepper silenced them with a stern, yet warm look.

'We just got a call from Jane Foster,' Pepper began. 'She's Thor's girlfriend; they're both in England at the moment, along with their friend Darcy. Jane has some science conference in New York next month so Thor, Darcy and her will be staying in the tower for a few weeks, next month.'

Once Tony was sure Pepper had finished, he exclaimed, 'Its the first time we will all be staying at the Tower. I even coerced Fury to give Tasha and Clint some down time... Actually, I might need your help designing a new security system for Shield... I may have bribed him with a promise of better security...'

Skye laughed and nodded. 'Speaking of the whole team, where's Bruce?'

Pepper nodded towards the kitchen. 'It's his turn to cook. I think he mentioned trying a recipe he picked up in South America. I hope you like spicy food.'

Skye smiled, and replied, 'Yeah, that's good. I'm gonna go see if he wants any help.'

Skye got up from the sofa, and headed towards the kitchen, wanting to get to know Bruce a little better. It wasn't surprising that he kept to himself, and he was the one avenger she hadn't really gotten to know yet. She wanted him to know she wasn't afraid of 'the other guy,' as she heard him call the hulk.

Skye found Bruce, humming by the stove as he stirred a sauce, and he nodded at her when he saw her.

'Hey, you need any help? I'm not much of a cook, but I can dice some veg. After all this Spy training, I sure know my way around a knife,' Skye joked.

Bruce let out a small laugh and nodded. 'Sure, why don't you start with the peppers, they take the longest, with the seeds.'

Skye got to work, and they found a peaceful silence, Bruce humming every now and then. Skye knew Bruce was quite reserved, so she waited for him to start a conversation.

It wasn't long before Bruce quietly asked, 'So, how do you like the tower?'

Skye smiled, looking up from the vegetables she had just finished chopping. 'Its nice. Extravagant, although that's to be expected with Tony, everyone is very welcoming. Its a bit spacious though, kinda... I don't know, its unsettling.'

Bruce nodded, understanding. 'Ahh, yes, I suffer from Agoraphobia, it can be quite uncomfortable. Especially for the other guy.'

Skye raised a brow at how freely he spoke about the hulk. She always assumed it was a sore subject. If Bruce noticed her reaction, he didn't comment on it. Instead he just continued, 'I'm a little surprised you don't like it. I imagine staying of a plane for weeks on end can get a little over crowded.'

Skye grinned, 'Nah, it wasn't so bad. Sure, being so close to everyone was a little awkward at first, but it was actually a step up. I lived in a van before Shield picked me up.' Skye shrugged. 'I guess I like small spaces.'

Bruce hummed in acknowledgement, before turning back to the dish, and scooping the peppers in and stirring.

'So, Tony told me you have a lab, working on anything interesting?' Skye asked, after a moment of comfortable silence.

Bruce began explaining a device he was working on, and with the right nudges, he was off in a whirl of technical babble and science. Skye giggled, instantly reminded of FitzSimmons.

Catching Skye's laugh, Bruce paused and blushed. 'Oh, sorry, sometimes I get a bit carried away.'

Skye shook her head. 'No, don't be sorry. It just reminded me of FitzSimmmons, from my team. They are the scientists, and the do the exact same thing. Its nice, reminds me of home.' Skye smiled brightly.

'FitzSimmons... The names sound familiar. You wouldnt happen to be talking about Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons, would you?'

Skye laughed and nodded.

'I've read some of their papers, its quite remarkable,' Bruce admitted.

Skye grinned, 'Oh my god, Simmons is gonna freak out. She kept going on about how I was going to be sharing a roof with the legendary Bruce Banner. I think she might be in love with you and your brain,' Skye teased.

Bruce chuckled, before saying, 'Well, its nice to be recognised for my brain and not, well, you know. You'll have to introduce me when they visit you, I'd love to discuss some of her theoretical ideas.'

Skye was right. Simmons did freak out down the phone when she told her a couple of hours later. She was pretty sure the squeal could have permanently damaged her hearing.

Skye had spent an hour or so, working out in the private gym on her floor, before dragging herself back to the communal living area. The others were watching some old Dracula movie, and it wasn't long before she was drifting asleep.

What felt like moments later, Skye was woken by something. The room was dark, and she felt a warm blanket thrown over. With a groan, Skye rubbed her eyes and sat up. A quick look at her phone told her that it was nearing 2 AM. Looking around once her eyes adjusted to the dark, Skye realised she had fallen asleep on the sofa, where someone had removed her shoes and given her a pillow. Skye smiled at this small act of kindness before she was alerted to what had woken her up.

Skye heard a metallic churning coming from the elevator. Seeing the dial above the doors slide its way up from 1, Skye realised some one was coming from the lobby.

'Jarvis,' Skye asked groggily, 'Who's in the elevator?'

Jarvis responded immediately in his ridiculously British voice, 'Natasha and Clint have just arrived. They are headed for this floor.' Skye felt a shiver of nerves and excitement, at spending more time with them and quickly stood up. As if on cue, a small ding sounded, before the elevator doors slid open.

Skye had never fully appreciated the jobs her parents had, the fact that they were assassins, before she saw them come in from their mission. Covered in blood, and tears in the tactical gear, they leant haggardly against each other, a picture of pure exhaustion. Skye watched in shock as they half dragged themselves out of the elevator. Seeing Clint wince as he walked, Skye was shaken out of her reverie, as she rushed over to them. Seeing Clint clutching his side with the hand that wasn't thrown over Tasha's shoulder, Skye let out an expletive.

'Oh my God! Clint, is that your blood?' Skye exclaimed.

Skye pried Clint's hand away from his side and it came away bloody, revealing a gaping bullet hole.

'Christ, Clint! You've been shot!' Skye quickly pushed his hand back on the wound and applied pressure, choosing to ignore the groan he let out in pain. Now wasn't the time to be faint hearted. Skye gave him a quick once over and saw no other serious wounds, then did the same for Tasha. She was relieved to see there was nothing past a couple of shallow lacerations and got Tasha to help her take Clint to the couch.

'Sit,' Skye ordered, trying to keep her voice steady. He did as she asked and Tasha followed suit, sinking into the cushion as if it was the first piece of comfort she had felt in days. Now that Skye thought about it, it probably was. Tasha leaned back and her eyes fluttered shut, only moving to trace random patterns of reassurance on the top of Clint's hand.

'Tasha, where is the closest first aid kit?' Skye asked, and Tasha slowly opened one eye to look at Skye.

'Kitchen. Cupboard under the sink. Black bag.' Tasha's voice was heavy with weariness.

Skye quickly ran to the kitchen and moments later, returned with a hefty bag. She wasn't surprised, Skye figured their medical needs were comprehensive, and often required. Skye reached Clint and helped him take of his shirt, to reach the bullet hole.

Skye winced at the sight, but tried to compartmentalise. 'It's a through and through. Shouldn't be to hard to clean up, but you need to stay still,' Skye warned, before taking a clean rag and stated to clean the area around the hole. Working away, Skye glanced at Tasha.

'How are you so calm right now? There's literally a hole in him,' Skye asked, worried.

Tasha looked at her with a smile. Behind it, Skye could still see the worry filter through her expression, but Tasha hid it well. 'Its a clean shot. Barely a scrape.'

'Feels like more than a damn scrape,' Clint interrupted, groaning to punctuate his point. 'We cant all have your pain tolerance.' Skye laughed, relieved to see Clint in good enough shape to be joking around.

Tasha smiled again, before saying, 'I'm not worried. I trust you to look after him.' Skye smiled, and went back to working.

'Do we have anything to steralise the wound?' Skye asked, rummaging in the first aid bag.

'Vodka,' Tasha said, and Skye found a bottle at the bottom of the bag.

'Good idea,' Skye said, before taking a swig, clearing the burn from her throat after.

'Hey, I need you to be able see straight if you're coming anywhere near me with a needle,' Clint grumbled, as Skye rolled her eyes.

Without warning, Skye poured some of the alcohol on Clint's side, and then over the needle she had retrieved, along with thread.

'Okay, this might sting, ' Skye warned, before starting to stitch Clint up.

Clint held in a hiss, and remained quiet, as Skye worked. They sat in near silence as she threaded the hole closed, until she finally asked, 'So, what happened to you guys? I thought the mission was a success, with you coming back early.'

Natasha shrugged. 'Our informant double crossed us. We didn't have time to go in quietly before the guns started blazing. We were going to scope the place out for a day before attacking. Still got the mission objective though. One less trafficking ring in the world.' Tasha smiled in satisfaction, as Skye finished stitching up Clint, wiping away the last traces of blood. Tasha peered over at her work, and was surprised.

'How are you so good at that?' she asked curiously.

Skye shrugged and began wrapping Clint's side with a bandage. 'The nuns at the orphanage were big on the practice of needle point. I guess I picked up a few things. Simmons taught me a bit too, even if I could understand half of what she was saying.'

Tasha nodded, slightly saddened at the mention of the orphanage, but didn't say anything.

'Right, let me just wrap up these cuts, Tasha, and then you guys need to sleep. And I'll know if you don't. Jarvis will be watching.'

Clint let out a little laugh, and mumbles something that sounded a little like, 'I thought we were supposed to be the parents.'

Skye smiled sadly, and set to work on Tasha. Before long, they were both settled in bed, and Skye was in the living area, clearing up the mess she had made.

Now that she had recovered from the shock at seeing Clint and Tasha injured and she knew neither of them were in peril, Skye deflated. All the worries had returned. How was this all going to work? Clint was right, they were supposed to be the parents, but she was an adult. Being friends for now, seemed like a good idea. She just hoped her awkward worry wasn't too palpable.

With a sigh, Skye headed to the elevator. Something told her tomorrow was going to be a long day. She needed all the sleep she could get.

Skye stumbled into the kitchen, to be greeted by several people. Skye just let out a groan and made a beeline for the coffee machine, causing everyone to laugh.

After several gulps of scalding coffee, Skye began to properly notice those around her. Clint sat on the counter, looking much better, whilst Bruce was checking his side. Natasha was hovering near by, desperately trying for nonchalance. Tony and Pepper were sat at the table, Pepper reading the paper, and Tony pestering her for attention, and Steve was doodling in a leather bound notebook. Skye looked at Bruce and asked, 'How is he?'

Bruce smiled, before replying, 'Quite well. You did a good job stitching him up. Couldn't have done it better myself. He'll be on R&R for a couple of weeks, but everything is normal.' Skye nodded, and saw Tasha in the corner of her eye relax a little. Skye grabbed a bowl from a draw, and rummaged in a cupboard, till she pulled out a box of cereal with a triumphant grin.

'Ahhh, Lucky Charms! The breakfast of gays and Superheroes,' Skye exclaimed happily.

Everyone laughed, except Steve, who furrowed his brow in confusion.

'I don't get it. Why homosexuals?'

Skye snorted, 'Oh, Steve. Its the rainbows on the box. Rainbows are sort of the universal colours of gay people.'

Steve looked surprised, and let out an awkward chuckle. 'Oh... And that's.. That's okay now?'

Skye grinned, ' Yeah, its been legal for years, and you can even get same sex marriage in some states now. Some people are still jerks about it, but overall its accepted.'

Steve smiled, 'Well, that's good.'

Skye nodded happily from her food, and continued shovelling it into her mouth, causing a couple of laughs around the room.

Once Skye had stopped to breath, she said to everyone, ' So, I was thinking that I could maybe continue my training, or at least stay active to stay in shape.'

Everyone nodded, except Tasha, who shot her a confused look.

'From what your SO told me, you weren't that into the whole training thing, what changed?'

Skye laughed, 'Oh, sure, the training was hard, and I may have slacked at times, but the only issue I had was Ward waking my up at the ass crack of dawn every morning. I'm not a morning person, but if I'm down in the gym by 8, I'll be fine. I'll have a couple of hours till I will have to start work.'

Tasha nodded, before Pepper asked, 'Who is going to train with you?'

Skye shrugged, 'Well, for the overall fitness stuff, I won't need constant supervision, but otherwise, I don't know. Tony doesn't strike me as a good work out buddy-' 'Hey!' 'and Bruce likes to stay in the labs. Clint is out of action for the next few weeks, so that leaves Tasha and Steve.'

Skye looked at the two in question and raised a brow at them.

'I don't mind, could always use a running partner,' Steve answered with a smile.

Tasha nodded in agreement. 'Same, it could be fun.'

Skye looked between the two of them, before saying, 'Well, one of you could kill me with nothing but a nail file, and the other has super strength and could probably throw me as far as I could throw a football. Either way, I'm gunna get my ass kicked.'

Tony chuckled in agreement, before Skye continued, 'But, I think I would stand more of a chance with Tasha, she's closer to my physique and knows how to use my size to my advantage.'

Steve nodded and Tasha said, 'Okay, I'm going to get my gear, then I'll head down to the Gym on the 18th floor. Meet you in 10?'

Skye exited the elevator onto the 18th floor, was surprised by the size of the gym in front her. Thinking about it, she didn't know why she was surprised, Stark always followed the 'bigger is better' route when it came to interior design.

The room was about the same size as her apartment, but with no walls to separate rooms, it was huge. There was a running track that circled the room, a boxing ring in one corner, a work out station fitted with all sorts of exercise machines and weights in another and in the centre, a matted area that was, Skye assumed, for sparring. It was a far stretch to what she was used too, the little makeshift work out station on the bus paling in comparison. Skye made a mental note to send a photo to Ward, already picturing the look of jealousy on his face. Skye smirked at that thought, before Tasha's voice called her to attention, teasingly.

'You gunna sit there staring all day? Lets warm up.'

Skye walked over to where Tasha was, at the starting point of the running track.

'I thought we would start with a couple of laps, get are hearts pumping before we get down to the hard stuff.' Skye nodded, and they both took off jogging.

Skye set herself up to a pace she knew she could handle for about 15 minutes or so and Tasha settled her pace beside her. They didn't talk as they ran, mostly concentrating on keeping their breathing steady. After about ten minutes, Tasha slowed to a walk, Skye quick to do the same.

As they stopped to stretch, Tasha broke the silence.

'From what I know from Wards technique, he likes to work with his fists.'

Skye nodded. 'Yeah, he would get me to work on a punching bag a lot.'

Tasha laughed. 'Of course he did. No offence to your SO, but he doesn't really understand how our bodies work. We have smaller frames, more flexibility and parts of our body that can be better utilised than our fists. That's not to say that a good punch can solve a bad situation, I just prefer a little more subtlety.'

Skye nodded again. It made sense, Ward's method never really seemed to take when she was learning.

'So, what did you have in mind?'

Skye let out a breath of frustration as, for the 100th time in the past hour, Tasha tweaked her stance. Her limbs ached, not used to the full body work out they were being pushed through. It would have helped if Tasha gave her any sign of her improving, but no. Only the constant changing of her stance, how wide her feet were, how relaxed her knees went. It was annoying her to no end.

'Please tell me I have it right,' Skye grumbled, as Tasha showed her the correct form again.

Tasha just tilted her head to the side, squinting her eyes slightly. 'Mmm, not quite.'

Skye let out another huff in annoyance, and dropped her hands to the side.

'This is hopeless! I cant do this, especially with you silently judging every move I make! At least when Ward taught me, he told me where I was going wrong!'

Tasha looked at her, with an unreadable face. 'And I'm sure when he did, it annoyed you to no end as well. Look, you need to relax. You're so stiff and tense. I told you, its all about flexibility, moving fluidly between movements.'

Skye scowled. 'Well, I wasn't exactly signed up for any gym classes when I was a kid, so I'm not exactly gunna jump into the splits!'

Tasha frowned slightly. 'I'm making you uncomfortable, I get it. You need to put away any emotions you may have towards me, and concentrate on your body.'

'That's kind of hard seeing as I've spent my whole life hating you.' Skye bit out, immediately regretting her words.

Tasha's face flickered with sadness before melding into an unreadable mask.

'Look, I'm sorr-' Skye tried to apologise, before Tasha interrupted her.

'Punch me.'

Skye looked at her like she was crazy. 'What? You want me to hit you?'

'Punch me,' Tasha repeated, her tone flat.

'Tasha, I'm not gonna punch you!'

Tasha sighed. 'This is the only chance you're going to get, so any frustrations need to get out now. Punch. Me.'

Skye looked at her in disbelief.

'Punch m-'

Thwack! Tasha's face barely moved to the side as a fist collided with her cheek. Skye however, felt a sharp pain across her knuckles. Despite that, it did nothing to hinder the slight satisfaction the punch gave Skye.

'Again.'

Skye raised her fists, and sent one into Tasha's stomach. Hard muscles coiled beneath her fist as she barely winded Tasha.

'Again,' Tasha demanded.

Skye threw another one at Tasha's face, leaving a split lip in her wake, and then another to her side.

The flashing pain in her hand was becoming hard to handle, and she slowly lowered her hands.

'Okay.. I think that's enough, Tasha.' Skye took a deep breath, as Tasha nodded.

'Feel better?' Tasha asked, curiosity in her voice.

'Yeah, I think so...' Skye trailed off. 'I thought you preferred subtlety to fists,' Skye joked, relaxing slightly.

Tasha grinned. 'Like I said, sometimes they can handle a bad situation, and subtlety isn't going to let out your anger. Sometimes you just need to hit something.'

Skye laughed, and Tasha let out a small chuckle.

'So, if you relax a little, I'll be a little more vocal in my teaching. Deal?'

'Deal.'

Hey! Sorry for the massive wait, I have exams and endless revision and I'm really sorry. Thanks for all the awesome comments, it makes my day.

Let me know what you think!