I feel I need to justify Skye's reaction a little bit after a review. She has just been attacked sitting in her lonely little van, watched her would be savior kill someone who would have killed her, not to mention getting on a plane headed god knows where with a man she doesn't know at all. I consider myself a strong person but I would be a shaking mess after that. Not to mention after Skye found out Ward was Hydra she had a freak out, much like the one I wrote, but quickly dusts herself off and gets the job done. Strength isn't in never breaking down. It's in standing up after you have been knocked down and getting on with it. I definitely don't want Skye to be a weak character but I need more than 2 chapters to show her strength. Don't worry, she is gonna be a force to be reckoned with.
Skye tentatively approached the cockpit door, laptop in hand, and knocked softly. When there was no answer she decided to just go in anyway.
"So I decided that since I am falling off the grid I might as well lay a few breadcrumbs in the wrong direction." Skye announced as she breezed in and sat in the co-pilot chair, ignoring Ward's grumpy side-eye.
"How about you leave the covert ops to the covert operative." Ward deadpanned, concentrating on his controls.
"Obviously your scary good at the whole... combat thing." Skye hedged, still not over watching him kill a man. "But there is more than one way to disappear."
"Wait how did you even get access to wi-fi? This is a level 7 secure system!" Ward questioned, clearly annoyed.
"Oh, that's cute." Skye said with an offhanded laugh. "Now, I laid a false trail to Cuba under one of my aliases. Plane tickets, customs crossing records, the whole she-bang. I even hacked the airport footage and left tiny hints of tampering."
"You know, you're doing a really bad job of convincing me you're just a civilian." Wards deadpan tone continued though there was a note in his voice which betrayed that he was at least a little impressed.
"This trail is not going to be easy to find but if they do it will lead them to a room in a resort in Cuba. I've got a program monitoring the door to that room. If they enter it, we will know. At least then we will know what we're up against."
Okay now there was no hiding the fact that Ward was impressed.
"You did all that in... " He glanced at his watch. "... 25 minutes?"
"It's a gift." Skye gloated with a sly smile. Who the hell was this woman?
"Now, do you need me to hack the aviation administration and delete flight manifests." Skye asked, turning back to her computer.
If he was being honest, Ward was a little offended.
"You think I'm some hack rent-a-muscle?" He scoffed indignantly. "There is no record of this flight anywhere, hell according to S.H.I.E.L.D. inventory the damn plane doesn't even exist. Give me a little credit."
Skye couldn't contain he smirk.
"My mistake." She said innocently, settling in to continue working whether Ward wanted her company or not.
It was Ward that broke the hours of silence first.
"ETA 10 minutes. Buckle up." He said, beginning his landing checks. Skye watched fascinated as he flicked carefully selected switches, turned dials and guided levers.
"Hey what does this one do?" Skye asked reaching forward.
"It ejects the co-pilot." Ward grumbled as he swatted her hand away from the control panel.
"Did T-1000 just crack a funny?" Skye asked incredulously, buckling her harness.
"Why aren't you in the cabin again?" Ward asked annoyed as he continued his checks.
Skye just scoffed as she sat back and waited to land. She couldn't help but be amazed as the plane dipped below the clouds. It was all greenery and breath-taking jagged hills.
"Where the hell are we?" Skye asked yet again.
"Italian Alps." Ward answered with a sigh. What didn't this girl understand about need to know?
Ahead Skye saw the Alps give way to a large, flat valley with a tiny black line Skye could only assume was a runway. How the hell did pilots do this? She could barely see it. She tried not to let her nervousness show as they go closer and closer to the ground. Thankfully it was slowly seeming like a less impossible task.
With a sigh of relief Skye felt the plane touch down on the runway. Though she didn't know how long that would last because she still didn't really know exactly where she was or why.
Ward taxied the plane to down the runway, parking it beside a small structure that looked like the entrance to a bunker.
"Come on." Ward said, getting up and leaving the cockpit.
Once they were out on the tarmac Skye jumped as she heard the bunker door open, still a little wary after the last person who snuck up on her. Another man dressed all in black walked towards Ward and handed him a set of keys without a word.
"We were never here." Ward spoke with a pointed tone that carried a hint of a threat.
"Yes sir." The man said and crossed to the plane without a backwards glance.
They both then got into the parked SUV and Ward drove off. The complete silence eventually became too depressing for Skye.
"Okay, this is weird. I've told you my whole life story and I don't even know your first name." Skye groaned. "This hell of a day has been long enough without being trapped in total silence."
"You talk to much." Ward mumbled.
"Fine... robot." Skye muttered under her breath.
"Grant." Ward said with a sigh.
"Huh?" Skye said, confused.
"My first name. You asked." He clarified, glancing sideways at her.
"Oh, right. Okay then, Agent Grant Ward." Skye said, drawing out the syllables of his name.
A comfortable silence settles in the car but Ward knew better than to think it would actually last.
"So were you a ninja-slash-terminator from birth or were you actually human once?" Skye said teasingly, trying to elicit some kind of rise out of him.
"Came straight from the factory." Ward grated under his breath.
Childhood's a no go... noted, Skye thought to herself.
"Can you at least tell me why we are in Italy." Skye was nothing if not persistent.
"I told you I have contacts here. They are just outside of Florence. If anyone can find out why the hell I've been put on this mission without raising flags, it's them."
"Chianti country... could be worse I suppose." Skye mumbled under her breath, finally giving up on conversation. Thankfully, the countryside was more than beautiful enough to keep Skye occupied. She wished that she were traveling under much different circumstances but she might as well take the pros where she could find them.
Skye couldn't help but take her phone out of her pocket, snapping a few photos of the the castles perched on the hilltops lined with grape vines and olive trees. She even managed to sneak one of Ward and his stupid handsome face just to prove that she could. Eventually the roads they were driving on got narrower and more winding. Eventually Ward pulled into a driveway surrounded by a giant stone archway that looked as old as the hills themselves. Skye couldn't contain an awed gasp as they rounded the corner.
"A castle? Are you freaking kidding me?" Skye squealed excitedly, she just couldn't help herself.
"It's a winery, Skye. Calm down." Ward said, rolling his eyes and shutting off the engine.
"Wait why are we at a winery? I though we were meeting scary, ominous sounding 'contacts'." Skye said in a falsely dramatic tone, complete with air quotations.
"These particular contacts are in retirement." Ward said, walking up to the entrance. "Let me do the talking."
Eventually they made their way up to a large wooden door with beautiful wrought iron trims and Skye couldn't help but marvel at every new sight around. She had never traveled overseas before but it was obvious that this was old news to Ward. He just looked around with the same expression that was halfway between wary and disinterested; an odd combination really.
Eventually the door swung open to reveal a man so totally opposite to what Skye had been expecting she began to wonder if maybe they were in the wrong place. They were greeted by a middle aged man with a kind face and an even friendlier smile.
"Ward, it's good to see you." The man said sounding genuinely genuinely surprised.
"You too, Coulson." Ward said with a hint of a genuine smile.
"And who is this?" Coulson asked, turning his attention to Skye.
"That's classified, but I'm afraid we need your help." Ward replied as Skye rolled her eyes.
"The name I gave myself is hardly an international secret, Ward." Skye said with a scoff, completely forgetting Ward's 'let me do the talking speech'. Skye stepped forward and offered her hand to Coulson. "I'm Skye."
Coulson eyebrow shot up as he took in this young girl, the first person he had ever seen, other than himself, call out Ward's ridiculously literal adherence to protocol. He just watched the exchange with curious eyes as they both rolled their eyes at each other. Interesting.
"Come in, I'm guessing you will be needing May's help too." Coulson said, inviting them in.
Ten minutes later, they were all settled around the large dining table along with Coulson's... well Skye wasn't entirely sure who she was. She introduced herself as Melinda May. Skye was struck by how different she and Coulson seemed. Coulson was all warmth and smiles while May was closed off. It wasn't that she was completely distant, not as much as Ward at least. They just seemed like an unlikely couple but it became clear by the way Coulson sat close to her and the way her hand trailed across his shoulder without even thinking as she got up to get them drinks that they weren't just housemates.
"So how do you all know each other?" Skye asked, breaking the silence.
"We uhhh... worked together." Ward answered, giving nothing away.
"Right." Skye said, falling silent again.
"So what is it you needed our help with?" May asked, the first full sentence she had uttered since they arrived.
"Things that don't make sense." Ward replied, looking at Skye beside him.
"I received orders 24 hours ago that I was to extract Skye here. No intel or background. When I arrived there was a team closing in for her." Ward continued.
"Doesn't sound that out of the ordinary." May replied, eying Skye warily. Skye sighed, resigning herself to the fact that most people were going to automatically assume she was a threat in this situation.
"That's the thing. Nothing about her warrants this kind of attention. Sure she is a hacker but she has never really crossed path with anyone of consequence. Certainly nothing to justify a level 10 protection order." Ward finished, talking as though Skye wasn't even in the room.
"Still here, Robot." Skye muttered under her breath, folding her arms in front of her.
"Wait, level 10?" Coulson questioned. "That could only have come from Hill or Fury."
"Exactly, and I have been told to go dark. I figured you two would have direct, off-book contact to Fury so I can figure out what the hell is going on."
"Why haven't you followed orders, gone dark?" May asked with narrowed eyes, obviously suspicious of why Ward of all people was breaking protocol. "It's not like you haven't carried out missions like this before."
"Nothing about this is like those other missions, May." Ward said, frustration grating his voice. "I can't do my job. I can't protect her if I don't even know what the threat is. I'm used to going dark but not going in blind."
"Okay, time." Coulson said with a tight smile. He was clearly used to defusing the tension between May and Ward, Skye noted. "Make yourselves at home, you two. We'll look into it."
With that, May and Coulson left them sitting in awkward silence.
"I'll show you to one of the spare rooms." Ward said gruffly, getting up and walking up the stairs, clearly knowing his way around. Skye followed after him with yet another eye roll.
He showed her to a beautiful room, straight out of a movie with unfinished stone walls, a large wrought iron bed and a fireplace which of course wouldn't be needed considering the warm summer weather but it was nice to look at nonetheless. Though, perhaps most blessedly of all, there was a large claw foot tub in the adjoining bathroom. Skye made a slightly undignified squeal when she saw it, keen to wash away the trans-Atlantic flight, not to mention the attempt on her life.
"I'll ugh... leave you to it." Ward said, disappearing without another glance.
She quickly locked the door behind him and all but ran to the bathroom, quickly running a bath and even adding some bath salts she found sitting on the vanity. Stripping and sliding beneath the warm surface Skye couldn't help but laugh a her surroundings. Here she was in the Tuscan castle of a couple she had met mere minutes ago, relaxing in a bathtub with the window beside her displaying the most perfect view anyone could imagine. Well she certainly couldn't complain her life was boring anymore. If she was being totally honest with herself she was terrified but curling up in a ball wasn't going to help her at all. She might as well keep her wits and stay calm.
She took that as a perfect excuse to stay relaxed in the bathtub until the sun set over the hill out the window and her skin resembled a prune. When she finally got out she realised that the rushed departure from her van meant that she hadn't exactly had time to to pack an overnight bag. Skye eyed her pile of dirty clothes trying to figure out her next move. With a shrug of her shoulders she wrapped the towel securely around herself and scooped up her clothes. With a level of stealth she liked to believe rivaled that of her mysterious ex-operative hosts, Skye stuck her head out the door to check the hall was clear. Sneaking down quietly in search of a laundry of some description she glanced over her shoulder, only to feel herself crash into something very solid.
"What are you doing." The solid obstruction asked.
Of course it was Ward, Skye thought to herself with a sigh, much to too exhausted to be embarrassed.
"What does it look like?" Skye asked, looking down at her armful of dirty clothes.
"Right." Ward said, concentrating very hard on only looking at Skye's face and not the small towel wrapped around her or the wet strands of hair that were sticking to her neck. Dammit. "The laundry is downstairs on the left."
"Thanks." Skye said, immediately walking off. She found a laundry complete with washer and dryer exactly where he had said and was glad when she noted they were one of the only things in the house from this century. Despite the beautiful countryside, Skye new the lack of wifi was going to prove a real problem for her. After loading her clothes into the washing machine she walked back to her room, resigned to the fact she was no ninja and sneaking was utterly pointless. She almost ran into Ward again on the return trip as well.
"I got these for you." Ward said holding what looked like a black T-shirt and drawstring sweats. "I only keep a few things here, Sorry. I'd try and find something of May's for you if I wasn't so sure she would knife me in my sleep if I went through her stuff."
"Uhhh, no they're great. Thanks." Skye said with a small smile. She was going to make a robot-sleep joke but figured that she might as well try to be nice since he was making an effort.
"I'm headed down to the kitchen, If you wanna come down after you're dressed." Ward said, reminding Skye that she hadn't actually eaten anything in almost a whole day.
"Um, yeah that would be good. Thanks." Skye said before walking in the direction of her room.
She really was going to get whiplash at Ward's mood swings if she wasn't careful. She quickly dressed even though the clothes were way too big for her. She couldn't help but laugh at her appearance in the full length mirror beside the bed as she rolled the sweats up her legs so she could actually walk. Oh well, Skye shrugged as she went off in search of the kitchen. The gnawing in her stomach would not be ignored since Ward had reminded her of just how hungry she actually was.
By the time Skye found the huge kitchen, complete with one of those huge old ovens that looked like a massive chimney there were already delicious smells wafting through the door. Skye couldn't help but do a double take at the man she had literally watched kill a man, who had been almost totally closed off since she met him working in the kitchen, looking completely domestic. It was an odd contrast that threw her for a loop. She also couldn't help but admit to herself for the first time that he was ridiculously good looking. Ugh, could this day get any more confusing, Skye thought to herself.
"Smells good." Skye said, taking a seat at the counter. "Who would have thought super spy could cook?"
"It's pasta, Skye." Ward replied with an eye roll that was becoming somewhat of a habit for them. "Not like it's hard."
She watched as he stirred the pot of sauce that smelled of tomatoes and basil while simultaneously checking on the pasta.
"You seem to really know your way around here. Do you stay here often?" Skye asked, trying to start a conversation but fully expecting to be shot down again.
"I do a lot of... business in Europe." Ward hedged, careful not to give to much away. "I usually end up here for my brief down time."
"Not a bad place to do it." Skye said with a smile, still not entirely used to the beauty around her.
"That's true. Plus the wine's not half bad either." Ward said with small grin, passing her the bottle he had been both cooking with and drinking.
"Touche." Skye said, grabbing a glass and pouring herself a drink.
"Any news from Coulson and May?" Skye asked.
"No. It might take a while." Ward said, straining the pasta. "The man they are trying to contact is not easy to get a hold of."
Judging from Ward's tone, Skye figured that was the understatement of the century.
"Don't worry, you're safe here. We will figure this out soon enough." Ward said, mistaking Skye's frown for fear.
"I know." Skye replied. "I just hate not knowing what the hell is going on."
"You and me both." Ward mused as he placed a bowl of pasta in front of her and made his way around the counter to sit next to her with his own.
They ate in comfortable silence as they ate. When Skye finished, she got up and began washing up, an old habit from her days at St Agnes. Everyone there had been expected to pull their weight and she thought nothing of it as she cleaned the kitchen in no time.
"Ah, thanks." Ward said, passing his bowl to her.
"No problems." Skye replied offhandedly. "You cooked... and saved my life. Figure I can at least wash some dishes."
Ward wordlessly dried and put away the dishes as they worked in oddly perfect synchronization. Coulson and May surfaced for the first time from their hidden communications room in the cellar, silently observing the scene playing out in their kitchen from the hall.
"That's new." May noted with a raised eyebrow while Coulson just smiled knowingly. They both made their way up to their quarters, turning in for the night.
Just as Skye drained the last of the water and bubbles from the sink she couldn't contain a wide yawn, the two glasses of wine and forty-something hours without any real rest finally catching up with her.
"Thanks for dinner. I'm gunna head to the laundry then bed." Skye announced, making her way to the door.
"Listen Skye, we might be here a few days." Ward said and Skye turned back. "We can go out and get you some provisions tomorrow."
"Sounds good, Robot." Skye said with one last yawn, leaving the ever confusing Ward standing in the kitchen.
Okay I'm sorry if this got a little too fluffy for people. There will be a big mix of fluff, angst, drama and action throughout this fic so hopefully it will have something for everyone. Plus even agents and hackers on the run need to take a pause for laundry and sustenance. Oh and the castle they are at is actually based on a winery I visited in Florence earlier this year. Skye's reaction is basically my own. I might put some holiday snaps up once I figure out the best way to do it.
Please review and let me know what you think.